Eternity
by Mieren
Summary: Fifth story in the saga starting with Midnight Shadows. It just gets weirder starting here, as if it wasn't before. Starting now, it just gets evil and it's gonna get worse. Please R&R cause I love it.
1. Chapter 1

Eternity

Part 1

By Mieren

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Mouri sat resting against a massive oak, occasionally fingering the bands around his wrists or the thin metal collar around his slender throat. In three pouches, several pockets and one largish bag, he had collected everything he was familiar with, praying that he would never need use some of the items in his possession. However, the elfin armory had proved to be all but worthless to his friends, the rune inscriptions etching the weapons acting as a barrier to their attempts to use the finely crafted implements of war. Mana had proved able to wield a few of the simpler items and weapons, as well as Shin, in forcing the energies in the runes to activate. The delicate engravings had shown themselves to be impervious to any bloodline that was distinctly not elfin, Shin's demonic heritage almost dooming his attempts as surely as the others. Strangely, Mana was powerless to use more than her son, causing the revived elf to wonder about her heritage. Something must have gone wrong somewhere. The what was beyond him. Mia could hold and use the weapons, but the runes would not activate since she held no true power. To her, they were simply weapons like any other.

Shifting uncomfortably, Mouri glanced around the group, disheartened by the bleak looks and slumping shoulders encompassing his friends. Four days had passed since Lanfear and her children had escaped into the outlands, abducting Cye as a final insult as they left. Four days since Mieren had died and Rowen had left. Four days since they had abandoned all hope. Mouri knew as well as the others that soon they would die. Almost everyone was injured, many mortally, and they were essentially unarmed and easily outclassed.

Sage in particular seemed stressed, his pale eyes locked on the ground under his trailing fingers. He looked up on occasion when one of his children or his wife prodded him, but he never responded with more than a bleak word or two. He often glanced at Shin before redirecting a heated glare towards the earth, his frustration mounting as the familiar visage furthered the possibility for an impending explosion. Logically, he knew that Shin was not responsible for anything that had happened to any of them, but his distinct resemblance to Mieren, Lanfear and many of her children had nearly unhinged him. It was a constant reminder of what they were facing and how badly they believed they were going to lose. Sighing softly, he glanced around as though praying that something, anything had changed. His eyes lingered on Kenji and Cale longer than any of the others, their dark blue locks tearing at his mind. Rowen's disappearance had affected him deeply, seeming to disturb him more than the thought he and the others were soon going to be killed.

Anubis seemed to be equally despairing. Now that his life was no longer in imminent danger, he had begun distressing and had taken up fidgeting almost constantly. He fingered his ever-quivering fox ears almost continuously, flinching every time he caught sight of his long bushy tail. The very sight of Rune seemed to send him into fits, provoking him to relocate himself quite often. No matter how the youko pressed him, struggling to convince him to allow them to train him in his powers, he only grew further agitated. No matter what their claims to his heritage, even with his obvious appearance, he flatly refused to admit that he was a youko and maintained his distance. After a few hours, Cale could take no more and forcibly pinned him, patiently waiting for his terrified friend to calm down enough to see reason. Anubis, however, was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and couldn't even bring himself to admit what he was, despite the grip the blue-haired man had on his tail, shaking it almost accusatorily. When the redhead finally broke down into ragged sobbing, Cale began warding off the youko, forcibly if necessary, in a frantic attempt to preserve his best friend's sanity. The foxes only reluctantly backed down when the blue-haired warlord lost his patience and transformed, whipping any youko that dared approach with a cord of darkness. Mieren had been right in one thing, they were stronger than they had originally known, proven easily by Cale's continual defeat of the youko, no matter that he was taking them on one at a time.

For a short while, Kenji had taken up fiddling with the armor orbs in his wrists. He abandoned his efforts when he somehow managed to set himself on fire three times in so many minutes, despite the fact that the orbs were distinctly for the elements of darkness and air. Firmly convincing himself that he would figure out the wretched armor later, he diverted his attention to his surroundings. In his own time, he had been a brilliant tactician, almost as good as Date's ancestor, Hideaki, had been. The sheer impossibility of what they were facing disheartened him further and he turned to the armor orbs once more, for whatever good they might be. His toying ended within moments when, once again, his forearms erupted in flame. Once again, the area around him cleared, escaping the stench of burned hair from his forearms. Kenji's eye twitched.

For a short while, Dais had resumed her illusion, once again appearing as the male Warlord they were all familiar with. After a few hours of traveling like that on the first day, she had decided that her energies were wasted on people who knew her secret and had unraveled the deception. Now, she and Sehkmet tried half-heartedly to begin a conversation, neither really in the mood to talk but both desperate to alleviate the deathly silence that had descended upon the group. That didn't stop the green-haired pervert from attempting to sneak peeks down his friend's shirt, certain that it couldn't possibly be real, refusing to believe that his best friend had deceived him for so long. After the seventh left hook from the incensed woman, he decided to believe the gender change.

Most of the others had clustered with their families, huddling miserably in what they were sure would be their last chance to be together. Mouri couldn't blame them, even envying their closeness in these dark times. He had tried speaking with Mana earlier, but the woman had no interest in anything anymore and sat closed to the world. Seeing that she, along with most everyone in the group, was avoiding Shin, Mouri motioned for the boy to sit beside him, which he gladly did. The boy's translucent jade eyes showed that he understood why he was being avoided, but also clearly reflected that he hardly thought the treatment fair. Even the youko, who had long awaited the ability to ally themselves with a dragon, were shunning him.

"This is how you prepare?" a cold voice rang through the silence.

Flashes of summoned armors and prepared spells blanketed the chill air as almost everyone scrambled to combat their attacker. Several gasps and soft oaths spread through the group when the speaker was recognized, though barely. Standing at barely five feet tall was a battered elf, looking to be in his fifties by human standards. Though elves were naturally thin, he appeared to be starved, eyes sunken and cheeks hollow. Every bone was clearly protruding from beneath his pale, taught skin. Lank russet hair, streaked with black and the occasional strand of silver or white, hung to the bottom of his shoulder blades. Scars adorned almost every inch of exposed skin and dried blood matted the old shredded clothes he wore. Some of the pale streaks across his face indicated that he had nearly lost his lifeless obsidian eyes to wicked blows on several occasions. Five great cats stood behind him, all fully grown and looking decidedly more rather dangerous than they remembered the beasts to be.

"Cye?" Mouri asked tentatively, holding Shin back when he tried to move forward to embrace his older brother. His _much_ older brother, who had appeared to be in his thirties only four days ago. Wherever he had been and whatever he had been doing, he had been doing it for a very long time. Mana looked up, her eyes hopeful. Seeing him, she flinched and looked away, terrified by the look in his eyes and feeling that she had just lost one of her sons as surely as her husband.

"Jeez man, where have you been?" Kento asked, breaking the returning silence. "I mean, what happened?"

"I escaped three days ago," he said, trailing off. His left eye ticked in concentration. "I only disappeared four days ago from your perspective. I've been… training elsewhere."

Mouri's eyes narrowed, his sharp mind catching the meaning behind his descendant's harshly spoken words. Training elsewhere. He growled darkly in sudden realization of how Cye had aged so brutally in such a short time from their vantage points. He had a dark suspicion of where he had been as well, which, if he was correct, was not a comforting thought. Before he could press his heavily scarred and clearly irritated descendant, Cye continued.

"Most of you should not be fighting," he muttered, his rough voice carrying clearly. The heavy scarring on his throat suggested damage to his vocal cords. Several irritated and wary looks were thrown in his direction along with a few glares. Seeming blind to their doubts, he went on. "I found a place where you will not be disturbed and I want you to stay there." His cold black eyes roved across the group. "Mia, Mana, Ritsuko, Kayura, Katari, Ryoko, Ella, Nasuti and Dais will leave."

Kayura's legendary temper flared, causing Sage to flinch. Her heated glare even managed to catch Cye's attention.

"You chauvinistic bastard!" she spat. "You're only leaving behind the women!"

Cye chuckled, a harsh grating noise that stood almost everyone's hair on end. The half smile he turned on Kayura caused her to back away several steps.

"Sehkmet, Akira, and Gau are to leave as well, along with the great cats," he murmured, motioning behind him to White Blaze, Chimera and their three grown cubs. At the renewed protests, he snapped at them fiercely. "I will not have you here just so I can baby-sit you! The weak and injured _will_ leave!" His eyes trailed to Ryo, narrowing angrily at the sight of his crushed arm. "You will go as well, as shall anyone injured in the battle. I will not waste my time with the wounded and dying."

"I notice you're not sending your brother away," Akira spat. Something about this new Cye seemed to ignite his temper just by looking at him.

"He is stronger than anyone here save myself," Cye growled, sharp black eyes defying anyone to argue the point. "Shin will stay."

"What about the armor and the sphinxes?" Ryo retorted, not pleased that he had been selected to leave. Cye shrugged.

"The armor, though powerful enough to open the gateway to the astral plane, is powerless compared to anything you might find in the outlands. As for the sphinxes, the odds against you learning their powers before you die are astronomical." For the first time, Cye looked around thoughtfully. His obsidian eyes narrowed worriedly, showing the first emotion other than rage that he had displayed since his return. "Where are Rowen and Mieren?"

"The traitor died and Rowen disappeared," Sehkmet spat. Scowling, Cye rounded on the green-haired man.

"From what I understand, she saved my life and sacrificed her own to protect all of you," he murmured, a dangerous note entering his voice. "I assume that she's the one who told you to use the armors and the powers of the sphinxes? Pitiful. She of all people should have known better."

"Oh, she knew better," Mouri said dryly. "She was only pointing out our possible strengths in case you didn't return. She said that you would, but I could tell that she wasn't sure. So tell me," he chuckled darkly, changing subjects suddenly. "You've obviously known what's been going on for some time now. Why did you help them open the path to the outlands? You sent several of the others to the astral plane and guided the rest of us to Zairian's Ledge, appearing in several forms along the way to hide your presence and your knowledge. Did you think we wouldn't recognize you as the great cat? As the youko or the elemental? Why did you help them then, only to fight back now?"

Throughout his raving interrogation, he noticed Cye's already bitter expression slowly darkening into something murderous. At the look in his eyes, Mouri felt sure he had overstepped his bounds and that Cye would strike him down. Many others apparently shared that thought, for everyone except Shin retreated. The youth only stepped in front of the elfin sorcerer protectively. Seeing him calmed Cye considerably, but his piercing gaze did not falter.

"I believed then that I could reach the outlands and the powers there first. I thought that I could end this. After what's happened… after what I've learned," he corrected bitterly. "I know that nothing I could have done could have stopped them." He began some of the basic weaves for a gateway, his shoulders drooping slightly before he caught himself and snapped his muscles rigid once more. "You should also know that nothing you do in the next month will be able to harm Lanfear in any way. Though she alone of the group was unable to reach the powers or form of the outlanders, I know that she cannot be killed for at least one month."

"One month?" Kenji whispered to himself, already piecing together what Cye was talking about. More than anyone, he was familiar with Lanfear and her powers. Only one thing could have insured that she would survive that long, Cye having seen the results himself even without knowing the events that would occur. He nodded slowly, a wave of sympathy flooding his thoughts. Cye glared at his knowing look, his dark eyes promising a variety of exquisite pains if he should let on to the others what he knew. Noticing that look, Kenji decided to remain silent.

"Also, you should know that Menderren and Cehir are especially strong, more so than the others. I believe that Lanfear was blinded by the intensity of the powers of her children as they worked, so I'm not sure if she saw what I did." At the inquisitive looks he was receiving, he continued. "They, like Len and Vera, managed to achieve the form of the outlanders before the others ever broke through the warding."

Cye glared at Kenji again, who had nodded, certain now that he was correct in his earlier thoughts. He knew better than to say anything though, since he didn't feel that it was overly important for the others to know. At least not yet.

"Those who I've named, say your farewells now," he muttered, snapping the gateway open with strangely twisted weavings. Mouri nodded approvingly, knowing that the tangled weave could never be deciphered, let alone followed, by anyone who hadn't a hand in creating it. The training the hybrid had put himself through seemed almost unnecessarily fierce. Cye's lips suddenly twisted upwards in a vicious sort of smile. "Oh, and Dais," he said mirthfully, causing the woman to tense. "I'll be sure to keep your son in one piece."

Every eye immediately snapped to Dais, who had reddened and attempted to hide her face in her hands. Before anyone could ask her what Cye had been talking about, she started for the portal, only to be stopped by Mouri's slender arm.

"Son?" he queried softly, obviously curious. Dais pushed him away and again started for the shimmering gateway. Cye stopped her.

"Aren't you even going to hug him before you leave?" he asked, smiling maliciously and earning himself a foul look.

"Who is it?" Kento asked casually, his wide grin returning for the first time in days. Dais refused to answer or look up. When she wouldn't say anything, he looked to Cye instead. "Well?"

"Think carefully," Cye smirked. "Who has a daughter with white hair and a light purple aura?"

Every eye shifted from Dais to Sage instantly, the blond paling and shaking his head immediately. Several speculative glances were thrown at Katari's platinum locks.

"No way," Sage spat, setting his jaw. "That's not funny, Cye."

"Are you sure about this? 'The son born to trickery's might holds the powers I must fight. The true appearance revealed at last holds the key to the master's past.' Wasn't that what the sphinx of light said?" Cye asked innocently, crossing his arms. "Wasn't mother dearest revealed as a woman in the astral plane?" He hadn't been present, making several of the others wonder just how much he knew and how.

Sage looked helplessly from Cye to Dais, his already light complexion becoming more pallid by the second. Grinding his teeth audibly, he snarled at Cye.

"And why exactly are you bringing this up now, of all times?" he hissed.

Cye's amusement deteriorated almost instantly. "Because," he retorted logically. "You are the only remaining master of illusion, and so you shall be the one to fight Koxanama. If left unchecked, his illusions can be fatal. As you are all, for the most part, unaware of their abilities, I shall tell you this. An illusion can draw blood."

Snarling in the face of logic, Sage stormed off into the trees, past the darting youko that wished to avoid his temper. None of them had the wish to be barbequed by a stray bolt of lightening. Cye shook his head.

"Great," Gau muttered, his soft voice clearly audible in the ensuing silence. "My grandmother is a cross dresser."

"And a pervert," Ella added.

Finally escaping Cye's attention when he smirked at the two of Sage's children, Dais darted blindly through the gateway and disappeared. At Cye's imperious gesture, those named followed more slowly. Though not delighted at the prospect of abandoning their friends and family, they knew Cye's course of action to be the proper one. If they were truly as helpless as he claimed, they would only be in the way. Cye waited until they had all gone before slipping through himself and allowing the gateway to collapse behind him. He tossed something behind him as he vanished.

Kento picked up the mystery item and eyed it quizzically, his brain taking a moment to kick in and identify the complex technology. It was an artificial heart of metal and electronics. Ancient black marks that were clearly once blood streaked the metal, clearly proving that it had been used in the past, perhaps future. The future froze his blood. Why would Cye give them something that hadn't yet happened?

"The hell?" he muttered, as baffled as the rest of the remaining group. Uncertain of the significance of the strange contraption, he didn't object when Mouri pulled it out of his hands, teal eyes studying the object intently with worried eyes before it vanished into one of his pockets.

_Light save us,_ Mouri thought, his heart constricting as he stared blankly at the ground. _I know who Mieren is._ His eyes hardened. He couldn't say a word without severe consequences. He glanced at the remainders of the group. What had they done?

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TBC…

It only gets weirder from here. Please R&R!


	2. Chapter 2

Eternity

Part 2

By Mieren

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Looking around at their surroundings, several curious glances were leveled on the one structure that looked out of place. Into the side of a hill stood the front of a granite and marble house, intricately carved into exquisite designs and patterns. A cloaked figure rose at their appearance and began walking towards them.

"_Now,"_ Cye said loudly, drawing their attention, shocked that he had resorted to the sorcerer's tongue. _"I would like you to meet the one who's so hospitably allowing you to stay over the course of the war."_ At his words, the lithe figure tossed the hood of his cloak back, revealing a middle aged elf with short cropped light blue hair and shocking silver eyes. Ryo and Kayura gasped in recognition. Dais and Sehkmet merely gaped, looking demandingly to Cye for an explanation. Most of the others shook their heads in exasperation and disbelief. Only Ryoko and Katari seemed not to understand the significance of the elf's appearance, having been too young to remember the elves that had been at the group's reunion so many years ago.

"_Neris Kilumen?"_ Kayura finally managed to choke out, causing the elf to raise his eyebrows speculatively.

"_No, kindly Guardian. My name is Chendai,"_ he said kindly, nodding his head in a compatibility greeting. _"Chendai Kilumen. Neris is my infant son."_

"You see," Cye told his friends, somewhat amused by their disbelieving looks. "We've already met Neris and fought beside him in our time, meaning that nothing can happen here. Though I've told Chendai not to tell his son anything of this, I know that either he somehow remembers Kayura or possibly Gau, later thinking he was Sage, or his parents let on bits and pieces of your stay when he gets a little older."

"Why would you say that?" Ryo stammered.

"Didn't you think it odd that he helped Kayura so freely in our last visit to this dimension?" he asked, playing with his fingernails. "Even allowing for the normally kind nature of the elves, he wouldn't have followed Kayura and Sage had he known nothing. The excuse that he simply wanted to help was flimsy at best with the wars the light elves had been raging against the dark." He snorted. "No warrior as trained as he was would have been allowed to leave."

"How much exactly did you tell him?" Kayura asked, her eyes flickering towards Chendai, who was waiting patiently on them. Cye shrugged.

"I only explained what time I was from and that I was a friend of his son."

"And he believed you?" Akira asked skeptically.

"Elves have ways of knowing if you're lying," Cye answered lightly. "And he knows that none of you, except Sehkmet, are dangerous."

"Why me?" Sehkmet asked rhetorically.

"We know your love of eating children," Cye responded innocently, bringing wry chuckles from both Gau and Ella. Even Ryoko managed to crack a smile, Kento having told her about that same joke having been played on her when she was two.

Before Sehkmet had managed to spit out a response, Cye was gone again, disappearing into a swirling portal that collapsed immediately behind him. Gau and Ella stared after him curiously, neither looking overly pleased.

"This is a good ways in the past," Gau murmured to the questioning looks of the others. "If Cye can travel through time so readily, why is it that we have to stay here? Shouldn't he be able to reappear without any time lapse?"

"Maybe he wants us to train here where we're safe," Ryo offered slowly, his eyes hopeful yet doubting at the same time.

Understanding the Gau's doubts and knowing that Ryo was incorrect in his guess, Ritsuko spoke up for the first time since entering her home dimension.

No," she whispered, throat tight. "He doesn't think he's coming back."

---

Kenji scrubbed his hand through his unruly hair yet again, knowing that Cye had misjudged the points he was jumping between. Even knowing that the man had miscalculated and they had only to wait a little while for him to return didn't calm their nerves. However, where everyone else was anxious, Sage was furious.

Pacing endlessly through the trees and hidden youko, he didn't seem to notice that for the first time Anubis had stopped his moping to study him carefully. Knowing that Sage was the son of one of his oldest friends seemed to have temporarily snapped the redhead from his shock of finding out that he was a youko. He watched the blond intently, wondering how he had never noticed their similar haughty attitudes or endless primping. Sage's daughter, Katari, should have been a dead giveaway, the girl looking shockingly like Dais even down to the color of her aura.

Almost two hours had passed in silence, broken occasionally by Sage's dark muttering, before Cye reappeared. Both Kenji and Mouri instantly recognized the look on his face, realizing that he had purposely left them standing unguarded for several hours. Whether it had been to scare them into accepting his lead in the battle or to allow Sage time to calm down, neither was certain, nor did they have any intention of asking. The look on the scarred face told them to remain silent unless told otherwise. Immediately upon glancing around, his already dark expression soured further.

"Where are the youko?" he snarled. Rune flinched and Terru scowled.

"Our ranks have broken," Terru snapped in response. "Because of the tricks pulled by your kin, they have turned away from us. Many have even joined the ranks of the Eternity Bound in hopes of bettering their chances of survival." He spat disgustedly. "Cowards."

"Considering what we're about to face, I can't blame them," Cye muttered, frowning unhappily as he glanced around. Rowen still hadn't returned and Cye didn't expect him to, despite Sage's occasional hopeful glances towards the trees. Sighing softly, he considered several intricate tactics in his head, few of which he believed would work. Kento was the first to speak up.

"So what are you planning?" he asked, making sure his voice carried. He wanted the youko, whom he didn't trust in the slightest, to understand that his friend was going to lead the upcoming battles. Cye shook his head.

"Not much," he admitted sourly. Sage stiffened, suddenly feeling the weight of Cye's hard, lifeless eyes on his back. "What do you think, Sage?"

Sage turned to face him with a glare, locking his ice blue eyes with Cye's cold hard obsidian. He knew what Cye was thinking and didn't appreciate it in the slightest. Though his ancestor may have been an astounding tactician, he was not. His abilities to plan any battle were all but useless in such circumstances. He had absolutely no idea what he was up against and wouldn't begin to know how to counter anything they tried, or even what they were capable of trying.

"I think you should figure out something before they get here," he growled, crossing his arms irately. "I would think that at your age, you would know what to expect better than I would."

Cye positively fumed, turning away before he decided to vent his temper. He had known that Mouri and Kenji had been aware of his hidden training over the years he had vanished before returning once more as an adult, but it appeared that the others had come to the same conclusion as the ancient sorcerers. He had obviously told them too much. Cale cleared his throat uncertainly, trying to alleviate the tension.

"How much do you know about what we're up against?" he asked slowly, watching carefully for Cye's reaction so he would know how to continue. When Cye raised one eyebrow at him questioningly, he pushed on. "We might be able to plan a little easier if we know what we're going to be facing."

Cye hesitated, his expression becoming devoid of all emotions almost instantly. Cale noted to himself that both Kenji and Mouri wore similar blank looks, both of them knowing more than they intended to let on. Sage noticed their expressions as well.

"Mieren told us that two of Lanfear's children were possibly on our side," he began stiffly. He tensed nervously at Cye's renewed glare, but pushed on stubbornly. "Which two?"

"I don't know for sure," he answered offhandedly. "Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. I don't want you looking for weaknesses or alliances that aren't there." Though the logic made sense, Sage did not look happy. "As for the others, I've only fought them once in their new forms, and that was for only a few minutes, so I'm not exactly sure what they're capable of. The strongest of the group are Len and Vera, followed closely by Touline and Follouya. I can't be sure about Cehir. He was mostly watching and laughing himself sick. Koxanama is easily the fastest of the group. Similarly, Detowin is obviously the slowest, both mentally and physically on his part. Even so, he's probably faster than most of you, so don't think you can outrun or outmaneuver him. Deterik and Follouya seem to be the most dangerous as far as tactics are concerned. They were the two that nearly prevented my escape. The twins, Sellene and Thena, seem to work as a pair and I believe that they would be severely crippled in combat if separated. Also, Cognite prefers physical combat. More often than not, you can probably engage in a battle of strength rather than a magical or fire elemental brawl."

"And that will do exactly what?" Sage snapped. "You've already made it perfectly clear that we're no match for them." He ended his ranting prematurely at the venomous glare directed at him once more. Even if he didn't want to admit it, Cye made him extremely nervous. Whatever he had done to himself, his new appearance was terrifying.

"Where do you stand among them?" Anubis asked darkly, his eyes broken and downcast. Cye hesitated again, earning himself several nervous glances from the others.

"If I were to challenge them one at a time," he mumbled, eyes narrowing as he considered what he had seen in his last encounter with them. "I think there are two or three among the group that I can match physically." At the horrified stares he received, he continued, hoping to calm their nerves a little. "I have a distinct advantage of speed, though. Only Picen, Cehir and Koxanama can outmaneuver me."

"So what are you going to do when they eventually catch you?" Kenji asked, raising his hands defensively at the scowl his statement earned him. "I mean, we can set traps for them, right?"

"No good," Cye immediately responded. "They can see the energy signatures of any snare or explosion set for them. They'll just snap the weave before they even get close. Throwing spells won't work either. Anything we throw can be knocked away."

"So we have to actually hit them," Kento sighed. "Great."

"They follow the same techniques, holding spells and energies of all sorts across their bodies before engaging in physical combat. They know perfectly well that we can dodge anything they can come up with. We can probably even knock away some of the lesser spells they throw."

"This is just getting better and better," Anubis groused. Immediately, both Cye and Mouri developed identical smirks that did anything but put him at ease.

"Of everyone here, you're probably the safest," Mouri said reassuringly. Cye's expression grew absolutely fiendish.

"Power up," he purred. Anubis stiffened, an almost hunted look appearing on his face. At his hesitation, Cye continued. "If you are what I believe you to be, you can do a lot more damage than you can possibly imagine." When Anubis only shook his head unwillingly, he turned to Rune and Terru. "Tell me. What does the number of tails on a youko signify?"

Rune and Terru exchanged incredulous looks, each wondering how much he actually knew. As secretive as their kind had tried to be, there appeared to be a few choice facts about them that had come to the attention of certain sorcerers.

"Each tail shows a mastery of an element," Rune said shakily.

"And with each element?" Cye prompted.

"Further magical powers as we push through the astral plane to reach the hidden powers of the outlands," he continued nervously, trying his best to ignore Terru's increasingly foul looks. The youko leader was obviously against allowing such knowledge to escape to the ears of anyone not youko or undyingly faithful to them.

"What is the total number of tails any youko has ever sported?"

"N-nine," Rune stammered.

"Why only nine when there are ten elemental abilities?" When no answer was given to his final inquiry, he turned triumphantly to Anubis, who shook his head forcefully.

"I can't," he whimpered. "I could barely manage five when I was fighting… uh… whatever her name is."

"Follouya," Cye offered helpfully. Anubis shook his head again.

"I was barely conscious," he mumbled. "It hurt." Cye's grin widened.

"Rune," he called softly, eyes gleaming. "How long did it take you to get to five tails? And how many masters were training you?"

"I… uh… it took me over three hundred years to get that far under almost a dozen different elders," he answered slowly. Terru's scowl faded, his eyes lighting up when he realized what Cye was getting at.

"In less than a day of knowing what you were, you accomplished what it took your brother three centuries to do," Cye said firmly, causing Anubis to flinch again. The redhead cast a nervous look at Rune before moving to hide behind Cale again. Cye chuckled and decided to leave him alone for a little while to digest that information.

"You said that they can see energy signatures," Shin said suddenly, more of a statement than a question.

"Yes," Cye answered slowly, his attention caught. The devious and more than slightly dangerous look in his younger brother's eyes was something he knew all too well. Shin was planning something that he just _knew_ he was going to like.

"So what if there isn't any traceable energy?" he asked, eyes narrowing evilly. After only a few seconds of explanation, Cye's mischievous grin outshone his brother's.

---

To Be Continued…

Can we say impending psychotic tactics? R&R! The ego can fit in my room again and I can't have that.


	3. Chapter 3

Eternity

Part 3

By Mieren

--- --- --- --- ---

"So what is this again?" Rune queried uncertainly, unfamiliar with any sort of technology. He put his eye to the end of a long metal tube, peering down it curiously.

"Put that down!" Anubis squawked, coming out of his stupor for a moment. His shock and surprising concern temporarily overpowered his fear of the youko. Momentarily in control of his sanity and serenity, he made a face and pulled the long, dark object from Rune's grasp. Unlike his older brother, he was familiar with firearms.

"And what exactly is in that thing?" Kento asked slowly, pulling a considering face at the rifle. "Unless you somehow managed to secure armor piercing bullets, I don't think that thing's going to work. Even then, I'd doubt that a little puncture wound, or even a big one from a hollow point, would do anything."

Long before he had finished, both Cye and Shin were grinning widely. Attention finally caught by their evil expressions, Sage meandered over to Anubis and appropriated the weapon from him, snapping the butt end open with surprising ease. His eyebrows rose almost to his hairline and he glanced back to Cye with a demanding look. When Cye's expression became slightly more innocent, Sage scowled and plucked a single round from the end of the barrel.

"And what is _this_ going to do?" he asked sarcastically, brandishing what appeared to be a tranquilizer dart. "I doubt that they're just going to take a nap from a little injection like this." Cye's smirk grew wider and he continued fiddling with a nearby tree, Mouri poking at the same massive oak with a slightly confident expression on his face. Sage's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Exactly what is in this?" he asked slowly, now certain that it was definitely not a tranquilizer.

"Potassium chloride," Cye murmured innocently, stepping back to gage his work critically. Nodding in satisfaction, he moved to a nearby tree and continued with his tinkering, occasionally pausing to calculate a specific height along the trunk and the distance from the previous set of trees he had been playing with. Seeming satisfied, he continued on his path to the northeast, pausing a few paces down at another enormous set of oaks.

"Potassium chloride?" Kento intoned, looking baffled. Not seeing a forthcoming answer from Cye or Shin, he turned to Sage curiously. Sage shook his head.

"Lethal injections," he explained. "How many times will that work before they learn to counter?" he inquired critically, not noticing Kento's blank gaze.

"Probably only once before Yersenia does something about it," he said, shrugging offhandedly as if he wasn't bothered by the question. "And don't bother hitting her, she probably wouldn't even feel that, even though it's not exactly poisonous."

"What does it do?" Rune asked excitedly, trying to take the dart from Sage, who purposely kept it out of his reach.

"Causes the cardiac muscles to seize," Sage muttered, stuffing the dart back into the rifle and handing the gun to Kento.

"Say again," Rune intoned predictably. Kento shrugged massively.

"Same thing as happens to you when I do this," Cale offered. He surged forward, a swinging foot leading. At the last moment, he pulled his kick short, missing the front of Rune's trousers by a hairsbreadth. Rune's jaw dropped and quivered slightly, looking down in shock of what had almost happened. Every hair on his tail was standing on end and his ears quivered uncontrollably. He blinked nervously and Cale grinned. "Stops all movement, specifically in the heart area," the blue-haired man concluded, clapping the terrified but uninjured youko on the shoulder and sauntered off. Rune only managed a pathetic whimper.

"Heart attack," the youko intoned weakly.

Recovering quickly, he grabbed Anubis's arm and all but carried him to the thinning ranks of youko. Fidgeting and glancing around wildly, he barely managed to retain his composure when Terru approached him. They stared at one another for some time before Anubis finally dropped his gaze and tried to move away, only to be blocked by a small group of hovering youko. Now that they had his attention, they had no intention of letting him escape.

Cye turned his head inquisitively, unable to make out their conversation even with his sharp ears. Frowning, he resumed his work, glancing back to the previous trees he had been to. Another two or three sets should more than accomplish what he was after. Shaking his head, he tied a final loop of all but invisible silver, carefully heeding the intricate runes covering the tiny twist of metal at the end. He paused again, looking to Anubis's trembling form. He was tempted to cast a spell to eavesdrop on what they were talking about, his curiosity increasing every time the redhead shook his head forcefully, an occasional refusal drifting softly through the air. Thinking better of angering his friends, he resumed working, praying that they would remain his friends. He knew he wasn't to blame for what had happened to him, but he wasn't sure that they'd understand.

"Is this the last one?" Mouri asked hopefully.

"Another two or three, I think," Cye responded immediately, knowing that his ancestor was growing tired. He couldn't blame him. However, the necessity of what he was doing didn't allow for weariness. "We're going to be moving a good deal faster than you think."

Mouri only nodded and ran his hands across the silver on the tree he and his descendant were at, carefully sliding down the height of the tree to the ground. Brushing some loose bark from his already mangled clothes, he headed to the next pair of trees a little ways ahead and clambered up quickly. Cye paused at the tree opposite him, pulling something out of yet another hidden pocket in his tattered clothes. He ran his hands carefully around the bottom of the oak and tossed the small mass in his hands to Mouri, who nearly fell from his precarious perch trying to catch it.

"How much longer?" Kenji asked suddenly, appearing at the bottom of the tree with his arms folded crossly. "We can't possibly have much more time before they decide to hunt us down and kill us."

"We have a little while, I think," Shin offered, dropping from a tree a dozen paces from them. "They still don't know where we are."

"How can you be sure about that?" Kenji groused, ready to blame the youth for his bloodline connections to those they fought to kill. Cye's slight gaze caused him to blanch slightly and discontinue further thoughts along that course.

"He's right," Cye countered immediately, cutting the ancient sorcerer from his train of thought. "I imagine that they still have no idea what the hell they're doing with that kind of power. They're going to take enough time getting used to that energy that they won't leave us a distinct opening."

"That's even better," Kenji muttered sarcastically, uttering something under his breath rather uncomplimentary about the entire dragon and outlander bloodlines as he stormed off. Cye's dark eyes softened for an instant in understanding. The man was clearly terrified and he had every reason to be.

"So who is the target for this anyway?" Cale asked, still grinning at Rune's back. Now that Anubis had settled down, his spirits had lifted a little.

"Picen," Cye answered immediately.

"Shouldn't he be able to maneuver around this?" Mouri asked skeptically, remembering Cye having named Picen as one of the swiftest of their opponents.

"He'll be going too quickly to change course," Cye answered casually. He dropped his voice, muttering to himself so low that only Mouri and Shin were able to make out what he said. "I hope."

"What about that?" Cale continued, motioning absently towards Kento, who was still hefting the rifle in a threatening manner. He looked more like he wanted to club someone with it rather than shoot them.

"Shoot anyone we find except for Menderren, Yersenia or Cehir."

Cye's casual comment and dulled emotions did not go unnoticed. Mouri glanced at him speculatively, understanding two of the choices but not the third. He had already mentioned that Yersenia wouldn't be affected. The ancient elfin sorcerer was willing to bet that Cye just couldn't bring himself to kill Menderren yet. The resemblance to Touma still haunted the entire group, Cye and Shin more than anyone remaining. Mouri's eyes narrowed angrily when he mulled Cehir's exclusion over in his mind. According to Mieren's warning, he hadn't been born yet. He wondered what Cye knew that he wasn't letting on. Despite his suspicions, he didn't know anything for sure. He believed that Kenji knew, but couldn't ask anything of the sorcerer for the sake of peace among the group. Or with Cye, which was vitally important since the hybrid seemed reluctant to relate any worthwhile information. The auburn-haired dragon kin appeared to have his reasons for remaining silent.

His inattention nearly earned him a broken arm when Cye leapt between the trees, suddenly looking rushed. Only a stray branch just to the side of his path to the ground saved him, though it nearly separated his shoulder when he snagged it reflexively in one hand. Cye only glanced at him and shook his head, locking a final few ties in place and leaping down nimbly. Stunned and slightly sore, Mouri followed, praying that Cye would be able to remember the arrangement of the rash trap well enough to avoid it himself. Though he had just placed the final section, he couldn't see what he was looking at, the runes he had diligently inscribed adding invisibility as well as strength.

"We have to go," Cye announced suddenly. "They've located us." The simple statement staggered the group, shocking the talkative youko out of their incessant chattering with Anubis, who looked very appreciative of the distraction.

"Go where?" Kenji immediately asked. "They'll be able to track us, won't they?"

Cye nodded. "That's the point. Mouri, you stay here with the rifle," he stated firmly. Kento immediately nodded and passed the firearm to the uncertain elfin sorcerer. "I want the youko to hide in the area in case you're needed. The rest of us are going elsewhere. Once they approach us, I'm going to try to draw them away. Whoever stays to follow you, just avoid them the best you can. I'll be back to help you as soon as I can."

At his first command that Mouri stay, he had pulled a slender silver rod from his pocket, thrice the length of his index finger and exceedingly narrow, as fine as the graphite in a pencil. One tip was filed down to a fine point. He hesitated a moment, a look of utter distaste on his face. Trying to ensure that nothing could trigger the silvery rod prematurely, he traced the twin slashes across his face, checking to make sure they weren't bleeding any longer. Though no one had been able to heal the claw marks, they had slowly clotted, proving that the wounds would heal naturally, if not magically. Certain that the blood flow had ceased, he placed the tip at the back of his right earlobe and plunged the point through the tender flesh. Activated by the touch of blood, the metal softened and shifted as though it was a living serpent, pulling itself forward and weaving itself through the flesh along the edge of his ear. He had to grind his teeth to keep from crying out as the metal repeatedly pierced the cartilage, climbing ever higher. Reaching the tip of his right ear, the metal suddenly ceased its movement and became molten, flowing outwards to cover the outer edge of his now bloodied ear. The process had completed itself as Cye finished his orders.

Cye glanced back at him as he summoned a gateway, a smirk appearing on his heavily scarred face. He only shook his head and continued the intricate weavings of a trick portal, the weaving holding a second within it that would trigger an explosion if anyone attempted to decipher the tangled mess of the weaving after it collapsed. Though he had designed it to remain invisible to any eyes but his own, he was still wary of the inconceivable powers he was facing. His glance attracted the attention of the others.

"What is that?" Kento asked slowly. Cale seconded the thought with an arched eyebrow and a demanding look. Sage only stared at the silver coating on the edge of Mouri's ear before rolling his eyes and starting for the gateway Cye was finishing.

"Cute trick," the blond called over his shoulder to the elf. "I'm not even going to ask how you figured that one out." He chuckled softly as he stepped through, adding one last thought before disappearing. "You're going to have to show me how you made that thing."

"Say what?" Kenji snapped, eyes locking on a wryly-grinning Mouri.

"You never knew?" the elf asked innocently, his eyes flashing to silver. "This was my contribution to the war three thousand years ago." His dark amusement only caused Kenji to bristle further. Before the blue-haired sorcerer could do anything to him, he vanished into thin air, not even his normally immense aura remaining.

"And what was that?" Cale asked slowly. Anubis rolled his eyes and moved towards the portal, pulling his friend behind him. Naturally, Rune followed.

"That's the power of a materialized rune," Anubis answered softly, fighting a chuckle. Rune nodded enthusiastically. "It's a dangerous trick. To think he was the one to have invented it."

"He's not the only one who can use that enchantment, you know," Rune offered happily, earning himself a sour grunt from an invisible Mouri. When Anubis and Cale looked at him demandingly, he grinned wider. "It's how I received my name. I raided the runes and created more for my own uses. Hence, I am Rune."

"So you're the one who finally figured out the toys that the youko stole from the Starlight Clan all those years ago," Mouri groused, a misty image of the elf appearing in front of the beaming youko. "Never figured that you, of all people, would have been smart enough to have unraveled my safeguards."

"Argue over this later," Cye snapped, pushing the milling group through the portal and motioning for Shin, Kento and Kenji to follow them. Terru raised his head towards Cye in a guarded sign of support before spinning to lead his remaining clan into the forest.

Once the group had passed through safely, he collapsed the weave and readied another, chanting softly under his breath to prepare a pathway to an area where he would be found quickly. For his own amusement, he set up another twenty to confuse the masses following them. Splitting up his opponents seemed the best option he had to ensure his survival. He stepped through his own stiffly, wondering idly whether or not he could truly maneuver through the obstacle course he himself had designed. Though certain that whoever was following him could not properly evade his crude trick, he wasn't sure that he could either. Tying his tangled, multicolored and greasy mass of hair firmly at the base of his neck, he settled back on the narrow cliff's edge to wait.

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To Be Continued…

Dun dun dun… Up next, battle number one with an outlander. Will it work? R&R!


	4. Chapter 4

Eternity

Part 4

By Mieren

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Cye's wait ended in minutes, as he had predicted. A gateway originating from the outlands opened barely spitting distance from him, Lanfear stepping out immediately, smugly. Fifteen wiry and deadly forms followed her, five emitting a grace and power that the others could not hope to manage. Three of the forms below him were incredibly faster than he was, making him seriously wonder if he should reconsider his tactics. His attempt to confuse his opponents hadn't succeeded in the slightest. They had gotten much better in the few days they had been training, their skills obviously having improved much more extensively than even he had managed in his twelve centuries of wandering through time. He bleakly wondered if he would have to try again if he survived long enough to escape.

He hesitated, keeping his presence hidden, a trick he had developed only a century ago. Though he could not be seen, he could not do anything either, his collapsed aura negating his strength to virtual nonexistence. His one distinct disadvantage was that he was completely vulnerable, helpless for several seconds if he was seen. Only his conviction to gain his vengeance for what had been done to him prevented him from turning away for fear of his life. The desire to protect his friends and what little remained of his family returned to his long devastated mind, rooting him to his position until the time came.

The gateway closed, sixteen forms hovering effortlessly in the air. Cye sucked in a sharp breath when one of the sinuous figures looked vaguely in his direction. Cehir's distinctive silvery mane identified him readily, nearly sending Cye into a seizure. The once softened gaze he had seen on the man had disappeared, possibly forever. Only a murderer's eyes shone up in his direction, the eyes of a madman. Cye tried not to pull back, prayed that he wouldn't be seen just yet, not by Cehir. He was easily one of the more dangerous of the Eternity Bound, possessing both the impossible strength and speed that Cye could not match in any sense of the word. Worse, he knew Cye's fighting styles and abilities to the very last trick.

A pastel emerald gaze swept across him, Cehir looking away a moment later, a slow smile appearing on his face. He looked almost amused. The very thought caused the hair on the back of Cye's neck to stand on end. Cehir knew he was there and Cye had no idea what he intended to do about it. Not giving him a chance to do anything, Cye leapt forward into his nerve-wracking plan.

Free falling and plainly in view, he allowed his aura to snap back into existence, using the sudden burst of power to push himself into a form that he would not have been able to manage otherwise. It served Deterik right for taking him to eternity with the others. Twin sets of long, thin wings sprouted from his back, a matching whip-like tail swirling behind him a moment later. He had barely managed to form the appropriate muzzle and corded muscles before sixteen heads snapped upright in his direction. Painfully aware that he was now being watched and countermeasures already being put into effect, he completed the shift into the outlander form, banishing his heels and readjusting the jointing of his legs. Wicked talons appeared on his hands and feet only an instant before he plunged through the scattering group, his frantic slashes missing every one of his targets miserably. It was pitiful enough that they had received training where he had not, but to make matters worse, he was short one of the crucial bloodlines for the transformation, just as Cehir should have been. He attributed the difference to Cehir's involvement in the ceremony.

Angling his overlapping wings harshly, he made another pass, growing concerned when no one made a move to counter him. If he couldn't convince at least one of the group to follow him, his effort would be wasted as surely as his life. Lanfear watched in morbid amusement as the fifteen matching forms around him swerved as though echoing one another's thoughts, closing in on him from all directions. Gasping, he pulled one of his fiercest tricks.

A crack of lightning flashed through his still rising form, blinding his attackers for the vital moment it took him to split himself in four directions, each form melting into a different elemental shape. Light, air, illusion and darkness versions of himself melted instantly through the massing forces, several whips of elemental power crashing in every direction before they could counter, though only one target was held in his mind.

Shrieking, Picen dropped several feet from the air before he managed to regain his composure and balance. By that time, Cye had rejoined his split forms into one and had bolted to the northeast at a backbreaking pace, praying that his lucky strike would enrage the other water master to follow him out of sheer vengeance. He desperately needed to eliminate anyone who could counter his primary elemental ability. He glanced over his shoulder several times, not having to fake the worried expression on his face as he pretended to flee from pursuit. Predictably, several forms followed him.

"Shit," Cye spat softly, increasing his pace further. He had only anticipated Picen!

He had only wanted a single pursuer on this run. Though he had wanted Picen to follow him, having taunted him by issuing several cheap blows, he had prayed that Koxanama would not follow. Cognite and Follouya, he could outrun. Deterik, though slower than him by far, could still cause serious problems. His only reprieve was that Cehir had stayed behind, his smirking visage and low spoken words keeping Len and Vera from following as well. The remainder of the group only watched him leave, fanning out to look for the others. Cye suddenly wished that he had left them in hiding as well, knowing that they were doomed if they were found now.

Desperate to escape all but Picen's furious pursuit, he altered his course, knowing that he could not escape the other four before nearing his trap, which would only hold one. Koxanama, however, posed a problem. Cye knew perfectly well that he could not outrun him. He altered his course to the west by veering almost two hundred degrees to the side, watching as Cognite and Follouya abandoned the chase when unable to match his instantaneous turn. Deterik, stubborn beyond any measure that Cye would have credited him for, followed relentlessly even though he had to widen his turn, managing to keep pace with Picen and Koxanama for several minutes before falling to exhaustion and turning away. Cye heaved a breath of relief as the menacing redhead forfeited the chase to Koxanama and Picen. His reprieve lasted for only a moment until he realized that Deterik had no need to be present to witness his downfall, that Koxanama and Picen together would be sufficient to finish him. Though weaker separately, together they could easily kill him.

Desperate, he tried another foul play. Powers of illusion he had no claim to erupted around him, filling the air with innumerable warriors and mirages of deadly spells. His pursuit ended instantly as both of his shadows swerved in vastly different directions to evade traps that did not exist. Ignoring Koxanama, Cye turned to Picen, dissolving the illusions in his path and allowing the man to follow him. More than willing, Picen darted after him, not noticing that Koxanama was still batting uselessly at the illusions Cye had cast. Cye had only moments to remove himself and Picen from Koxanama's view before he unraveled the weak illusions and he knew it.

Struggling to gain distance, it took him several moments to remember what he had seen in the astral plane during his training. His friends had seen him a moment after Sage had unraveled the illusion of the dimension, a winged horse beside one of the beautiful streams in the disguised paradise. Luckily, they had not seen though his illusionary form and had dismissed his retreat as nothing, allowing him the opportunity to follow and observe them further. The sphinxes' riddles still rang sharply in his mind.

"_The son born to trickery's might holds the powers I must fight. The true appearance revealed at last holds the key to the master's past."_

"Sage," he breathed. Too late, he realized that the sphinx had all but told them that it was willing to fight Koxanama. Cye craned his head immediately, clenching his teeth when he saw Koxanama in pursuit once more, the rudimentary illusions he had cast still unraveling under the vicious blows of the true master of illusion. His mind rang out, crying for help from the only one he believed could help him now.

_Sage, help me! Sage! Damn it, I know you can hear me!_

Receiving no answer, Cye swerved into a tight loop designed to miss Picen by a wide margin. Koxanama, however, was slower and hence not so lucky, catching the full of Cye's charge in his exposed side. Yelping in shock and pain, he tumbled from the sky for only a few seconds before regaining his balance. But by that time, Cye was gone, Picen with him.

Knowing that the final illusion of invisibility would diminish within seconds, Cye nearly killed himself by changing directions again and swinging towards the northeast at a speed he could not maintain. He had only minutes at his current pace before he collapsed from wounds that had never truly healed. Destroyed lungs and a severely damaged heart that would eventually kill him. The passing seconds seemed like an eternity as he neared the forested lands still miles ahead.

Cye's eyes narrowed suddenly and he pushed himself to greater speeds, clearly hearing Picen's hiss of frustration as he was forced to strain to keep up. The gaping wound in Picen's front left wing was the only thing that had allowed Cye to outdistance him thus far, though he doubted that it would matter much longer. The brunette was getting tired, panting hoarsely and trembling slightly as he neared his goal. Gasping loudly, he went completely limp and plummeted from the air.

Picen let out a shriek of victory as Cye fell unhindered through the air, furling his own wings instantly and diving to follow. It nearly unhinged Cye to see the victorious visage nearing him as he drew ever nearer the ground, but he did not reopen his wings or move to correct his fall. Talons encased in black flames reached out for him, closing tightly around his long thin tail.

Gasping, Cye tried to sever his own tail, straining to remove the dead weight from himself before he reached the first set of trees. He knew he had only an instant to readjust his height and speed to make it safely through the narrow passageway he had left open for himself through the deathtrap. Too late, he curled in on himself to slice through his snared appendage, thin wires nicking his elbows and the back of his neck. He struggled to pull free, his eyes locking desperately on the wires wrapping around the trees ahead, the opening several feet too high for his diminished speed and height. A shriek was ripped forcibly from his throat as he crashed through the following tendrils of enchanted metal. The delicate runes on the small pendants at the ends of the wires forbade their breaking, but Cye's momentum ripped them free from the trees, slicing cleanly through the thick trunks. Fierce whips of burning pain erupted along his spine as he hit the third such mass of strings traveling backwards at an unbearable pace. Blood flooded across his face as he careened through the next set of wire trappings, Picen's scream intermingling with his own.

Time seemed to slow down as the bloody forms tangled in wire continued through the traps Cye had set. After what seemed like an eternity, the twin shredded forms skidded to a halt on the stony ground, the soil beneath them quickly turning to mud from the sheer volumes of blood seeping from their mutilated hides.

"You bastard," Picen spat out, blood trickling from his mouth and lacerated neck alike. He struggled to rise, the wires wrapped around him cutting deeper into his flesh.

Cye groaned and shifted into a water elemental for a mere moment, seeping carefully between the wires and into the earth beneath him. He would have shifted before hitting the wires if he had thought he could have survived the enchanted steel slicing his elemental form into multiple pieces. More likely than not, the effort of allowing a rune tipped wire pass through him would have killed him. A properly crafted rune could destroy even an immortal. He had hoped that Picen would have attempted that very act to protect himself, but he had apparently followed Cye's lead and held his form. Cye had to credit him for owning at least a few brain cells.

Reaching a fair distance from an ensnared, and furious, Picen, Cye reformed slowly, his numerous injuries reappearing as he reclaimed a physical form. He glanced at the sets of wire ahead, thankful that he hadn't been thrown though those tangles as well. He hadn't the strength to fight as it was.

"It's too bad," Picen announced suddenly, beginning the laborious process of freeing himself from the tangled steel. He frowned slightly, shrugging the last of the entwining wire to the ground.

"Too bad?" Cye repeated carefully, tensing. He had to fight with his own nerves not to look around for Mouri, praying that his ancestor would reach them soon. Without the elfin sorcerer and the rifle he carried, Cye knew that he wouldn't survive long.

"Too bad that your little ruse didn't work," Picen shrugged, a crafty expression appearing on his face. "You must have realized by now that your efforts will save neither you nor your friends. I almost feel sorry for them. By now, they must be screaming in agony at the hands of Menderren or Deterik." Cye snarled and advanced a step, careful to keep his shredded wings out of his way in case he had to move quickly. Picen smirked widely and cocked his head, listening to something beyond Cye's senses. "Detowin as well," he sneered, eyes flashing maliciously. "He just finished off that stunning vixen. Pity. I'd have liked a turn with her before she died."

Cye's eyes widened and he stepped back, fighting to keep his emotions and expression in check. The sudden realization of Picen's attitude struck him as a supreme victory if he could use it. Picen was wounded far worse that he was letting on, his taunts and superior attitude stalling for time and keeping Cye off guard. Despite himself, a smile played at the edges of his lips.

"Pity indeed," Cye murmured, moving forward. He kept his advance slow, desperate to keep his injuries and dragging limp hidden. "Especially since there were no women in the group."

With the final word, Cye leapt. His momentum carried him directly through Picen and nearly into the tree beyond him. Shocked, he turned slowly to face an indistinct image of his opponent, the misty form growing further translucent by the moment. Shaking his head in denial, Cye turned his attention to the sky and found an answer to the impossible.

"Greetings, cousin," Koxanama called warmly from his aerial vantage. Beside him, Picen watched with obvious amusement. "I see that you finally unraveled the mystery of my brother's likeness." Cye stepped back, quivering slightly from exhaustion and loss of blood. He kept his eyes trained on the two forms above him, still praying for salvation. "We were fairly certain that you had prepared a trap for us. That's the only way you would ever have picked a fight you knew you couldn't win. Neither of us was about to follow you until we knew what you were up to, so I created a mirage for you to lead into your own deathtrap."

"He's gotten smarter over the years," Cye muttered darkly to himself. Realizing that the illusion he had faced had reached a complexity he had never imagined possible, he began to wonder if they stood a chance. It appeared as though he was still being taunted despite the lengthy training he had undergone. He had actually believed the deceptive figure to be Picen, had been unable to detect the weave or the energy signatures. He realized absently that the illusionist had even managed to counter his own element, as he had not been able to do so many years ago. Cye glanced quickly over his shoulder and took another step back, deciding on the best path of escape.

"You can't outrun us now," Picen scoffed.

Cye wanted to scream, to collapse to the ground in bitter frustration and helplessness. He had been caught in his own trap and would suffer greatly for it later if he survived this encounter. A slight movement of a nearby branch and an almost indecipherable rustle off to his side alerted him to another presence. He kept his eyes trained forward and expression fixed in a mixture of fury and defeat. If it was another of Lanfear's children, his defenses were worthless anyway, but if it was not, then he didn't want to draw the attention of the two in front of him towards a possible ally.

"I don't see that it matters since you're both dead," Cye scoffed, praying that his company was who he believed it to be. In the furthest regions of his peripheral vision, he saw the distinctive glimmer of the tip of a rifle's barrel. Cye allowed his features to twist into a feral grin. "Bye."

Brows knitting at the returned taunt and the blatant threat, Picen opened his mouth to respond, grunting in shock when a tiny projectile slammed into his ribs at a high velocity. Blinking in disbelief, he pulled the tiny dart from between his ribs, absently flicking a drop of blood away from his pale skin. Koxanama snagged a second projectile just before it hit him as well.

"And what exactly is this supposed to do, you stupid elf?" Picen snapped, throwing the tiny projectile towards its source when he came to the realization of who must have been responsible. Seeming more irritated than anything, he turned to Koxanama. "Why didn't you tell me he was there?"

Koxanama just shook his head in disbelief and stared at the tree more fiercely. "Because I can't see him. If I didn't know better, I'd swear that he wasn't actually here."

"By the runt's own words, she was sent away," Picen muttered, gasping softly for breath. "Only the elf is here." He cleared his throat a little roughly, his breath beginning to come heavily. Without warning, he lost several feet in altitude before he was able to regain his bearings and hold himself upright again. His right hand strayed to his left shoulder and clamped it tightly, eyes widening in realization. "You bastards," he hissed. "What did you do?"

Cye leapt into the air, praying that a short distraction would give Mouri time to escape before the two in front of him realized what had happened. His guess of an immediate attack was well founded, a blast of energy passing him in flight and heading directly towards the tree Mouri had fired the twinned shots from. The resulting explosion created a crater well over fifty feet deep and at least twice that wide. Cye tried to keep his mind focused on what he was doing, nearing his targets with claws leading. Predictably enough, Koxanama slapped him immediately from the air and sent him spiraling into the trees. He barely managed to alter his course enough to evade crashing into the enchanted wires once more. Vindictiveness caused him to snap one wire and ricochet it towards Koxanama, who cursed loudly and vulgarly at the whip mark to his upper arm. Cye bounced once and lay still, barely clinging to consciousness. Blatantly aware that only Picen's worsening condition had kept him from being attacked again, he tried not to draw attention to himself, instead opting to watch the two shadows in the sky above him.

The only reason Picen hadn't plummeted from the air was that Koxanama had a fierce hold on his younger brother. Picen had begun trembling fiercely, blood trickling from between clenched teeth as he fought to breathe against the pain in his chest, his jaws clenched so tightly that his own teeth were cutting into his gums at the roots. Face betraying a look of desperation and pain, he turned pleading eyes to his brother, who nodded slowly and started back in the direction they had come with Picen cradled in his arms. They hadn't been moving for more than a few seconds before Picen shuddered violently once and went limp. Koxanama's face paled for an instant only before deteriorating into a cold fury. Swallowing nervously, Cye took his cue and sank defensively into the ground in the form of a water elemental, praying that he still had enough strength to survive his escape.

Seconds ticked on indefinitely as he tried to gain distance, his entire body burning with the effort of holding an elemental form. He could feel Koxanama pulling further away in a futile attempt to help his dying brother, having abandoned the chase to report to the others. Cye sighed mentally, knowing that his trick wouldn't work a second time. Yersenia would surely decipher the deadly riddle of how to counter the potassium chloride before they managed to hit anyone else. Koxanama's possession of the second dart saw to that.

Exhausted from his injuries and the effort of holding an elemental shape for any length of time, Cye surfaced and allowed himself to shift back into human form. He knew that he was momentarily safe from attack and sank to the ground to rest for a moment. Several soft moans and whimpers escaped his clenched jaw as he settled to the blood dampened earth, every breath escaping his lungs growing slower and more labored. He angled his head slightly to glance at himself, to see how much damage he had taken on his desperate attack, but could make out nothing past the deep crimson. Black swirls infiltrated his vision as a wave of dizziness swept across him, pulling him mercifully into oblivion.

--- --- --- --- ---

Mouri had sat helplessly as Cye had crashed through set after set of the almost invisible wires they had so carefully entangled among the trees. Great oaks and pines toppled mercifully to the ground or shattered in a rain of splinters at their passing, leaving the elfin sorcerer to watch miserably. Though he had followed immediately without fear of being detected, still disguised from the aid of the small metal rune winding through his ear, he only arrived several moments after Cye had taken the brunt of several fierce taunts at the expense of his sanity.

"You can't outrun us now," Picen scoffed loudly. Cye began to tremble fiercely, his despairing look earning him several cold chuckles. The elfin sorcerer watched intently as he drew nearer with rifle held ready in his hands. They hadn't even had to train him how to use it, being much simpler than a bow. Just look through the scope, put the cross on what you want to hit and pull the little trigger. He must have been noticed because almost immediately, Cye's shoulders eased slightly, the pained trembling leaving his lacerated form.

"I don't see that it matters since you're both dead," Cye taunted back, tensing himself as though preparing for battle. Mouri sincerely hoped that he had more sense than to attempt such an act of desperation. "Bye."

Realizing that he had almost missed his cue, Mouri hefted the barrel of the rifle and squeezed the trigger gently. He had barely heard the resonance of the shot in his ears before his arm snapped forward along the barrel and back with a fierce click, a new round readied in the barrel. His aim had already been readjusted and he squeezed the trigger again, watching as Picen jerked in shock from the stinging pain of the dart buried in his ribs. Koxanama, however, was much faster, snagging the second projectile out of the air and studying it thoughtfully.

"And what exactly is this supposed to do, you stupid elf?" Picen snapped, flipping the empty round back at him. Mouri watched in horror as the small dart missed his skull by less than a finger's width. In his silent, and more than slightly frantic, deliberation of why the darts hadn't worked as Cye had assured him they would, he missed Picen and Koxanama's ensuing conversation. Picen's shout broke him from his thoughts.

"You bastards," he spat venomously. "What did you do?"

A short-lived grin appeared on Mouri's face when he realized that they had succeeded in poisoning at least one of the Eternity Bound. Picen trembled and began hyperventilating, his already pale features taking on an ashen look. Mouri's elation died almost as quickly as it had appeared when he saw Cye take to the air in blatant combat before they could decide what to do. On a sudden burst of fear and paranoia, he abandoned his hiding place and sprinted for cover, a blast of energy slamming into the tree where he had been. Despite the ground he had gained, the explosion threw him forward at least twenty feet. By the time he regained his wits and balance, he could only look up to watch the tail end of the battle, too sore and in an impossible position to intervene. Koxanama casually pocketed the dart in his hand and slapped Cye from the air as though he was only a pesky insect, sending him tumbling from the sky and towards the deadly wires once more.

Grinding his teeth, Mouri doggedly started towards where Cye would have landed, heaving a sigh of relief when he saw that his descendant had missed the deadly wires, though barely. Cye didn't notice his presence, instead shifting into a water elemental and sinking defensively into the ground. Only at his absence did Mouri realize the danger he was in. Wide turquoise eyes lifted to the heavens in time for him to see a single retaliatory blast leveled in Cye's direction of retreat, issued by a furious looking Koxanama.

The only thought to pass through Mouri's mind was how badly he was about to hurt when that blast hit him. In a reflexive act of desperation, he snapped himself into an elemental form and sank deep into the earth, counting silently and frantically in his mind.

_Eight… Nine… Ten… Eleven…_ Mouri whimpered as he strove for distance. The passing seconds were unequivocally precious and as equally deadly. From past experimentation born of recklessness and curiosity, he had determined that he could hold this impossible form for roughly half a minute before he shifted back forcibly. He had to make sure that he was above ground when that happened, not wanting to be spitting sand and gravel from every orifice for the remainder of his life, assuming that by some miracle he actually survived the reformation. Drawing too near the time limit for his liking, he surfaced suddenly, gasping for breath.

"Where's your illusion, elf?" Koxanama snapped.

Mouri choked, one hand snapping to the side of his head where his earring had fallen out when he had shifted forms. Searching fingers encountered only a bloody ear despite his desperate prayers. His eyes widened when he realized that he had lost his bags of enchanted weapons, leaving him utterly defenseless. Not even his thin leather armor had made the trip with him, leaving him entirely nude as well.

At a loss for words and wits, Mouri simply turned and retreated, sprinting lightly across the plains where he had surfaced. Neither trees nor hills decorated the flatlands, leaving him open to attack without a place to even try to hide. A feeling of maliciousness approached him from behind, alerting him that a blast of energy was being readied to obliterate him as he ran. Even knowing that he couldn't move fast enough to get away, he dove into the ground, extending his manipulative powers of water into the earth and begging passage from the stone below. The earth heaved sluggishly, opening for him only an instant before his head crashed into the dirt. Even as the soil snapped shut behind him, he felt the wrenching pain of a lance of energy ripping through him. The silent earth seemed to roll about him as he writhed for an instant before going limp, breath stilling in his throat.

_At least I drew him away from Cye,_ he thought silently as darkness claimed him.

--- --- --- --- ---

"Shit!" Kento spat, surging to his feet with a maniacal look in his dark eyes.

"Be quiet!" Terru snarled softly. "Do you want us to be found?"

"What happened?" Sage asked. He knew that something bad had to have occurred for Kento to have exploded so suddenly.

"I-it's Mouri," he stammered, slumping against the cave wall. "He was just… Koxanama was angry that he shot Picen and he… I think he was trying to lead them away from Cye."

"Oh God," Sage breathed. He buried his face in his arms and shook his head numbly, afraid to hear anything further, but afraid not to know what was going on. "What about Cye?"

"I don't know," Kento admitted softly, shoulders drooping. "The earth felt his passage a few minutes ago and told me that he was hurt." He stopped, features tightening in pain. "The elementals never notice things like that unless…"

"Shit," Cale breathed, repeating Kento's original statement. "Now what?"

"I think we're screwed," Anubis muttered into his folded arms. Shin glared at him angrily.

"He's not dead yet," he snapped with a conviction that caused Kento to wince.

"We don't know that for sure," Kento murmured, stopping when Shin's heated gaze turned on him.

"The hell we don't," Sage said, suddenly catching onto Shin's thoughts. "You remember what happened the last time Cye died." Kento glanced over at him, understanding dawning on his grave features. They all remembered quite well the explosion of power that had shot across the dimension at Cye's last rebirth.

Shin looked towards the northeast where he knew that both Mouri and Cye laid defenseless. As he had seen Cye do on rare occasions in the past, he called silently for help to no one, to everyone.

_Please, save them,_ he pleaded. Tears ran silently down his cheeks, stinging his eyes and burning his chill flesh. _I'm begging you, help them._

Though he had not expected an answer, it stung him deeply when he didn't receive one.

--- --- --- --- ---

To Be Continued…

To be honest, I have no idea where this fifth story is going, but I do know how I'm going to end the sixth. Please R&R to inspire me. That and I love it, so R&R!


	5. Chapter 5

Eternity

Part 5

By Mieren

--- --- --- --- ---

Mouri gasped, his eyes stinging at the sudden burst of light. Above him, he caught an image of a deathly pale figure framed in a thick mane of onyx hair. Impossibly black eyes shone back at him, framed by translucent flesh streaked with eerily visible arteries and veins. He shivered uncontrollably, the blood loss he had suffered insignificant when compared to the unearthly visage facing him. An unnatural chill raced down his spine and through his limbs, creeping slowly up his neck and across his cheeks.

"**_Feeling better now, or are you still in pain?"_** a soft baritone queried. **_"I was beginning to think that my efforts were in vain."_**

"I… I'm okay," Mouri answered uncertainly, still unsure of his savior. The strange words rung in his ears, though he was too groggy to understand the significance of the strange verse. The very presence of the man set him shivering. He recognized that the words were not in any language that he could readily translate, but that didn't seem to hinder his understanding of what the man was saying.

"**_Very well, if so you say,"_** he murmured, preternatural obsidian eyes locking onto the trembling elf. **_"Then wish you to rejoin the fray?"_**

Mouri's head had barely dipped in acknowledgement when the world around him suddenly shifted, colors and shapes blurring together and reforming almost instantly. A wave of vertigo hit him and he nearly collapsed. A firm hold on his arm steadied him. Though he heard voices ringing around him, he couldn't collect his thoughts quickly enough to catch their first few words.

"Where am I?" he asked groggily, blinking vaguely as he tried to bring the world into clarity. His right eye didn't want to focus.

A strong hand slipped under his jaw and pulled his head forcibly upwards, dragging his still blurry gaze towards the ceiling of a high cave. Someone pried his right eyelid back and peered deeply into his eye. A good deal of muttering and grumbling ensued. Mouri exhaled weakly and sagged into the arms of the man holding him, making a weak effort to maintain his feet when he was pulled to a standing position once more.

"For the love of… just let him sit down," an irritated voice rang out. Mouri frowned and squinted miserably in the darkness. That had sounded like Sage.

"What happened? I thought that you were…"

"As delicate as you always were," Sage interrupted. "Shut it, Kento. Can't you see he's hurt?"

"I assure you he's not," Anubis interrupted. Mouri found himself being hauled to his feet once more by a blurry youko who he believed to be Rune. Anubis's voice was too far away for it to have been him. "A better question would be, who did this to him? Or perhaps, how did he get here?"

"Must have been a master of the arts," Rune's voice rang out only inches in front of him, confirming Mouri's guess as to who was holding him up. "This is incredible. To have thought that such a thing was even possible." After that, the youko's voice deteriorated into excited gibbering and strange squeaks.

"Do you suppose that this is some sort of trap?" Kenji asked, pessimistic as always. Mouri felt the blue-haired sorcerer prodding him in the side.

Mouri stiffened, tired of being treated as though he wasn't there, tired of being prodded and utterly ignored. Straightening, he slapped Rune's hands away from his trembling form, barely noticing that he was still quite nude. His eyes narrowed, bringing the cave into focus suddenly and sending a strange warmth spreading across the right side of his face.

"Do you people mind?" he snapped, grabbing the front of Kenji's already tattered shirt and hauling the stunned sorcerer into the air one-handed. The fact that he had been mortally wounded only moments before, and shouldn't even have had the strength to do what he was doing at his prior peak of health didn't even cross his anger-overloaded mind. "Would you quit talking about me like I'm not here? I'm not deaf, you bastards!"

The realization of what he was doing didn't hit him as hard as the sight of his right hand, encased in silver from the middle of his palm to half way up his forearm. Only the last joint of his thumb was visible. Most of his fingers were plagued by the shining metal to some degree, his hand appearing as though it were covered in some strange glove with the fingers cut out at different lengths. His fingers opened of their own accord, dropping Kenji to the floor, the sorcerer forgotten. Shaking fingers ran across the silvery metal, leading him to the shocking discovery that it was not entirely metal. His skin felt strangely warm and smooth where the silvery coloration covered his arm. Experimentation found that his arm moved as freely as it ever had, though an eerie tingling feeling radiated outward from the silver every time the metallic skin shifted.

He was so entranced by his hand that it took him several seconds to notice that the damage extended far past his arm. From shoulder to a little past his elbow, his left arm was covered in the same shining silver, which spread outwards from his shoulder across his collarbone and the top of his chest and back. A starburst pattern appeared in the center of his chest, causing his eyes to widen from the memory of the final blast that had passed straight through him. He didn't have to crane his neck to know that a matching hole in his back was similarly filled with silver. His gaze dropped to various streaking of silver across his abdomen and legs, some of the sections appearing to have replaced enormous chunks of flesh. He had a sneaking suspicion that there were twin stripes of silver across his face where deep, partially healed lacerations had previously been. Running one hand across his right ear confirmed that the cartilage terrorized by the invisibility rune had been replaced as well. On a hunch, he trailed two fingers gingerly over his right eye, nodding slightly in comprehension when a warm tingling radiated outward across his face.

"I see," he murmured in sudden understanding, unintentionally interrupting the questions that the others had been firing at him. "So that's what he meant about his efforts to revive me."

"Two things," Kenji said firmly, still brushing himself off irately. He appeared more than slightly disgruntled at having been dropped on his backside. "He who? And what in the hell is going on?"

Mouri glanced around the group of friends and youko, wincing when he realized just what he had been thinking. Or rather, what he had come to understand. Shin's knowing gaze snapped him back to reality.

"I think that… I sort of… um… died," he said slowly, staring numbly at the silver blanketing his chest. "Someone brought me back to life."

"So you say," Kento groused. "Does this 'someone' have a name?"

"I didn't get too good a look at him," Mouri said defensively. "But he had pale skin and black hair. Does that help?"

"Not in the slightest," Rune said cheerily, anxious to hear anything the elf had to say. "Continue."

"He was speaking in some language that I've never heard before, but could easily understand, and he was speaking in rhymes. Beyond that, I have no idea," he murmured. "I only caught a glimpse of him and then I was here." Shin nodded thoughtfully.

"So what about Cye?" the youth asked suddenly. "Where is he?"

"There's no telling with that one," Mouri whispered. A strange smile formed on his face as his eyes trailed skyward. "I never could sense where the first of the first was throughout the centuries."

"This again," Kento sighed. "Do we even need to ask?"

"Do we even want to know?" Sage corrected, looking irked.

"I'm thinking not," Kenji muttered, frowning at the partially metallic elf three paces from him.

"Are all elves like that?" Terru asked suddenly, prodding Mouri roughly in the shoulder when he continued to stare at the cave ceiling.

"What do you mean?" Anubis asked sharply. The youko leader scowled at him and he sank back, his piercing glare faltering under the general's look.

"I mean," Terru growled, "that there was another elf a little over twenty one hundred years ago that used to do the same thing, only much more vocally. I remember him shrieking at the top of his lungs that something that shouldn't exist would come into being, that it already had, yet it hadn't." He paused to shake his head disdainfully. "He was mad."

"And just how old are you?" Kento muttered. He raised his hands defensively when Terru scowled at him, only then realizing that the youko had heard him.

"Old enough to realize that we're losing miserably," he sighed, shoulders sagging. "Nothing we can do will be more than an exercise in futility."

"Perhaps there is something," Mouri murmured under his breath. Only Anubis, Shin and Rune were close enough to hear him. His voice began rising slowly, steadily, as he continued. _"Those who once teach, must in time learn. Trust in the past where loyalties burn."_

"Damn elves never could speak a straight sentence," Kenji muttered. Terru and Rune nodded in silent agreement. Shin only frowned at them.

"Like you two can talk," Sage scoffed, slumping against the cave wall. "I've heard the astral planers speak, not to mention certain sorcerers and the mystery one who fixed Mouri. To be perfectly fair about this, you're all nuts."

"All of those tries, and you still didn't guess who was speaking," Shin whispered. He traced his fingers over the metal fused into Mouri's arm. "Even with all of the blatant clues." He chuckled softly, still not noticed by the arguing adults. _Thank you for helping him. Can you also save my brother and grandfather?_

When only silence greeted him this time, Shin didn't grow concerned. He knew now that their predictable yet elusive ally was listening. A sudden burst of thoughts in his mind nearly overwhelmed him, but he was careful not to allow his thoughts or emotions to show to the bickering group around him.

_Dragon's child and dragon's kin, banished forever for their sin. Yet time and fate have torn the lines of the limits and confines. You beg of me to save the light and thus join into another's fight. I hear your words. I hear your cries. But I'll not help you till another dies._

Shin shivered and swallowed hard. He closed his eyes and lowered his head to his chest, trying to understand why they were to be ignored until someone else was killed. A slight chill ran down his spine when he understood, and whispered the answer unheard into the damp cave air. "Is it that you won't help us or that you can't?"

--- --- --- --- ---

Cye groaned weakly and made an effort to rise. His shifting legs and arms contacted only free air and he paused in confusion. He was on the ground, wasn't he? A slight rhythmic jarring motion led him to believe that he was not. More than slightly disconcerted at his inability to move, he flailed again, this time with more force.

"Hold still," a tired voice commanded.

Not recognizing the deep voice immediately, Cye jerked frantically, this time gaining purchase on a piece of clothing and pulling himself free. Seeming to understand that he had no intention of holding still, his captor paused and lowered him to the ground. Before Cye could retaliate, he moved a few paces back and sat down. Cye forced himself to his feet and tried to focus his eyes on the still form a short distance from him, his efforts thwarted by the blood in his eyes. Frantic blinking brought a glimpse of blue into focus, but little more.

"You should really try to rest," he admonished Cye. "You're hurt."

Cye squinted pitifully and gasped as his captor came into focus. Once handsome features were now creased with the pain of loss. Downcast sapphire eyes were locked forever with the ground, the pain of battle destroying the once gentle gaze and extinguishing the once youthful light. Thick locks of sapphire hair hung across the pale face, the usually well-kept hair oily, stringy. Cye wilted back to the ground, the sight of the man across from him tearing at his heart.

"Rowen," he started, unsure of what to say.

"I was impressed that you were able to kill Picen," Rowen murmured. He swallowed thickly and looked away, his voice dropping almost to the point of being inaudible. Cye wondered if Rowen realized that he had exceptional hearing. "Too bad it wasn't Deterik."

Cye opened his mouth to try to comfort his grandfather and friend, hesitating when Rowen regained his feet and placed one hand tentatively on a nearby tree trunk. Before Cye's disbelieving gaze, Rowen's hand flickered and disappeared into the flickering shadows playing along the massive trunk. Deep swirls of utter blackness passed along Rowen's tense frame, pulling him swiftly into translucence and then nonexistence. Cye could only stare in shock as he disappeared completely into the shadows.

"Since when did he know how to do that?" Cye groused. Even after centuries of training, he hadn't mastered the shadows to that degree.

"_**Creator's sin and instrument's demise, the truth is in the beholder's eyes. Heed the ways of the future's past, the first to fall shall be the last."**_

Cye didn't bother to crane his head towards the source of the voice. He knew all too well who was behind him and the futility of ever trying to understand what the outlander was trying to tell him. Sudden realization of the increasing insanity of the riddles made him growl something entirely uncomplimentary under his breath. How could the first one to die be the last? Both Mieren and Touma had fallen in battle. The only way he could make sense of the riddle was if it was their opposition that the outlander was talking about. Picen was the first to die, and if he was the last as well, they were completely and utterly screwed.

Cye slumped against a nearby tree and rapped the back of his skull sharply into the trunk. Even after all of the years he had worked with them, he hated the outlanders and their infernal riddles. The rhyming drove him batty. If he didn't know better, he would suspect that they were doing it on purpose just to irritate him.

--- --- --- --- ---

Cehir raised his head, the search of the lands below him temporarily forgotten. Picen's presence had fluctuated suddenly and then disappeared altogether. The pain of his death still hung sharply in the air. His lips thinned in something akin to satisfaction. He had never liked Picen anyway.

He froze where he hovered. Though whispered, a string of rabid cursing reached his sensitive ears. It sounded as if the speaker was responding to something that Cehir _hadn't_ heard, which was impossible unless it had been in response to a sending from another realm. Concentrating for a moment, he recognized the growling voice as one he had known so long ago. Memories swept across his churning mind.

_Deep within the mountains, a youth hovered waveringly a mere foot above a stream of molten lava. He sniffled miserably, looking to a figure cloaked in black robes a few paces from him. He was tired and wanted to rest, but knew better than to anger the mentor that had suddenly emerged on his fifth birthday. For almost a century from that day, he had been obeying every word of the man who had kept himself hidden in the endlessly deep robes he wore. He had tried to catch a glimpse of the harsh mentor within the cloak several times to no avail. A mask of illusion interwoven with darkness prevented him from detailing the features of the man who had taken to training him._

_Distracted by his contemplation of the silent figure watching him, he lost altitude and his toes dipped into the lava, searing his flesh. Howling in pain, he rose a good distance into the air and moved away from the charring heat. He had barely landed before he was reprimanded._

"_Hold your position, boy!"_

_Cehir sniffed disdainfully at the cloaked man and the molten stone. He was a century old and felt that he deserved more respect than he had been given by this stranger. Despite his age, he retained a youthful appearance. Touline was only three centuries his senior, but she had told him on numerous occasions that he aged far slower than she had. Though the training had increased his strength and endurance, he was resentful that his power was only a joke compared to the hidden energies of the dark figure. He didn't even understand why he was being trained. The man before him had ignored Touline entirely and seemed oblivious to Koxanama's birth a few years ago. He only seemed interested in Cehir._

"_Begin again," the dark form instructed him._

_Hissing in resentment, Cehir reclaimed his position above the lava. He steadied his position and locked the burning pain from his mind, almost entering a pale state of meditation. He knew better than to entirely close his mind, though. He had been pushed into the lava more times than he would like to admit for that particular mistake. Mind and body steadied, he resumed the intricate weaves he had been playing with earlier. One weave shifted smoothly into another, each spell formed from the strands of the last and each growing in intensity and difficulty. He had almost finished his forms when an explosion sounded beside him._

_Falling once more into the lava, he missed the brief battle between his mentor and his ever-vigilant aunt. By the time he had regained his footing on cool, solid ground, it was over. Mieren glared daggers after the form that had vanished into the earth and air simultaneously. She knew better than to try to follow him, but at times, it appeared as though she was tempted._

"_Why are you still listening to that madman?" she snarled._

"_He's just training me," Cehir whispered, ducking his head in embarrassment._

_For the fifth time that week, he had been caught training under a man whose name he didn't even know. He recognized the battered voice and dark cloak of his mentor, nothing more. He waited patiently, knowing he was to be punished again for going against the will of his aunt and mother, the latter of which was still trapped in the Mountains of Omnipotence due to a vicious prank on the part of his aunt._

_Ever since he had appeared out of thin air a century ago, he had been under the iron will of the women he called Aunt and Mother. Though neither he nor they understood where he had come from, they all knew that he was Lanfear's son. The bloodline was too strong to deny, stronger than either of his siblings. It was as though his father had been a dragon as well as his mother. He had dismissed that possibility long ago. There were no other dragons outside of their family and he had been the first male to appear in the bloodline. The drakes were out of the question. They were dangerous, no matter what their potential. Cehir was not the only one to hope that the mentally deficient prototypes to dragons would die out soon. Kenji had been a fool to design anything so uncontrollable._

_The first blow to land across his back, he had expected, though not of the force in which it had come. His legs buckled and he sank to the ground, blood pouring down his back from a deep gash well over two feet long. Disbelieving eyes turned towards his aunt as the second blow fell across his exposed ribs, cracking four and shattering three. He steeled himself as the blows continued to fall, praying that her fury would quell itself soon. Mieren's temper was a thing of legends, her strength rivaling his mother's at times. He knew better than to fight back or speak. It would only make her angrier._

"_You are not to train with that man," Mieren spat suddenly. Cehir blinked in confusion and raised his pale eyes to meet her deep jade. She had calmed more quickly than he had expected. "I don't know who he is, but he's dangerous. One of these days, he'll probably kill you."_

_Not waiting for his response or even allowing him the time to think of one, she vanished in a swirl of shadows. He lowered his head and sighed wearily. Though it was true that he didn't know the man that trained him, he trusted him and felt certain that no harm would come from the elusive figure. He was a harsh teacher, but he had never caused any serious harm to befall him. After being chased off so suddenly, he didn't expect to see his mentor for at least a few days. He was exceedingly wary of Mieren's or Touline's presence, more so than even Cehir. Because of this, Cehir believed he knew who the man was, but he dared not voice his suspicions._

Cehir snapped back to reality, his pale green eyes catching the slight movement below him. The man he knew so well yet so poorly was on the move again. Cehir grinned widely and dropped to the ground, careful to mask his presence. For once, he wanted to see the face of his ancient mentor. Though he was certain that he made not a sound, the man he was looking for was gone by the time he reached the area he had heard the voice. He blinked in confusion. Surely he hadn't been seen with the illusionary cloak he had been maintaining so carefully.

Amused, Cehir chuckled softly to himself. Once again, he had been eluded in his efforts to glimpse his master from so long ago. He decided that if he was ever to succeed in catching the man who had trained him, he would have to develop a new technique to bypass the sharp senses that currently surpassed his own. Sure, he knew who the man was, even though he constantly denied it to himself, he wanted a glimpse of him in an untransformed state.

His amusement was cut short. Hanging in the air was the sharp smell of blood. Someone had bested the man who had trained him. Either two or more of them had teamed up against the injured man or someone was out there that was a match for any one of them. He shivered at the possibility and rose into the sky once more. If such a force was out there, he didn't intend to face it alone. Steadying his determination and nerves, he circled back the way he had been heading.

--- --- --- --- ---

To Be Continued…

Yes, it will get weirder, as hard as that is to even think of. Just you wait. Please R&R if you want further insanity!


	6. Chapter 6

Eternity

Part 6

By Mieren

--- --- --- --- ---

Kenji peeked nervously at the sky and the bolt of living energy that passed from his view at a horrifying pace. Cehir had dropped to the ground and returned to the sky just as suddenly, his shroud of illusion fading in his determination to get somewhere quickly. Something had upset him visibly, and that couldn't be anything Kenji really wanted to hear about. Anything that terrified an outlander, or the equivalent of one, was something that he most definitely did _not_ want to meet.

"What is it?" Mouri asked softly, peeking up at the sky a moment too late.

"Cehir just went flying that way like a bat out of hell," Kento murmured, nearly scaring the elf out of his metallic skin. Mouri hadn't even heard him approaching. He had always hated trying to keep up with the elementals.

"Something scared him," Kenji breathed. Cehir's strength was something he had never seen equaled other than by a few of his siblings. For something to have frightened him that badly, it must have been powerful. He shook his head and sunk back into the cave opening. "We should find somewhere else to hide. Had he not been in such a hurry, we would have been spotted."

"And even with that good fortune, you still have been."

Rune and Terru leapt in front of the group immediately, enchanted weapons held ready. Rightfully terrified, Kenji and Mouri initiated spells of their own and held them ready, though neither of them moved to attack. Sage moved almost as quickly, snapping open a portal behind them and pushing everyone else through, deaf to their protests that they could fight. His efforts succeeded in getting absolutely no one through. Shin evaded his grasp and charged to the front lines beside the two youko to face a tall figure cloaked in shadow. Surprisingly, the lithe form only leaned against the rock face at the opening of the cave, making no aggressive moves. Shin froze, instantly recognizing the outline of the face before him.

"Menderren," Mouri spat, strengthening the spell he held in his hands to a level that burned his mind to maintain. Shin stepped in front of him, blocking his path of attack as he faced the tall form at the cave entrance.

"Father," he said softly.

The visage that still retained so much of Touma within the harshly etched features softened slightly. Menderren pushed the shadows away from himself and faced them directly. He shocked everyone by abandoning his outlander form and shifting back into a human. Slight tips from four horns still peeked from under bushy hair, and it was that one feature that Mouri and Kenji watched closely. Emotions warred across his face from hatred to resentment.

"Find somewhere better to hide and learn to shield your powers," Menderren muttered, turning away from the shocked group. He raised one hand to his head as though it caused him great pain to do so. "Next time, I won't be so lenient."

Shaking his head blearily, he turned away and vanished. Kenji crossed his arms and smiled nervously as the dark form disappeared into thin air.

"Shielded and controlled or not, Touma put up quite a struggle," Kenji chuckled mirthlessly. Mouri nodded in agreement.

"We haven't lost him yet."

--- --- --- --- ---

Neris leaned against the nearest wall, fighting his desire to pound his head against the smoothly carved stone. Both he and Siellon had been listening to the distant battles for days now and were going absolutely stark raving mad. It was bad enough knowing that their friends were fighting for their lives, but to just watch from afar and do nothing was tearing at their minds. They knew that it was useless to intervene, neither of them possessing the power needed to fight, but it didn't allay their guilt. Twice now, they had felt the tearing pain of loss, Touma's and Mieren's presence disappearing from their minds altogether.

Sighing loudly, Neris pulled himself away from the wall and moved towards a corner of the house where he stored various odds and ends, none of which he ever used. He wrapped the tips of his fingers around a dusty metal trunk and pulled fiercely. The metal scraping along the stone floor let out a piercing squeal, nearly causing Siellon to jump out of his skin.

"_What are you doing?"_ the dark elf demanded.

"_Help me with this,"_ Neris muttered, heaving the trunk another few inches with another hair-raising shriek.

Grumbling to himself about useless chores, Siellon gave in and yanked the trunk into the center of the room with a simple ripple of telekinetic powers. Neris threw him an irritated look and turned back to the corner.

"_So what's so special about the trunk?"_ Siellon asked suddenly, pulling at the lid uselessly for a moment. He was about to use another blast of magical energies to open the heavy lid when he saw that Neris was still poking around in the corner. _"What are you doing?"_

"_Looking for something,"_ Neris muttered absently. He prodded the dusty floor carefully, forming intricate patterns in the dust with his fingers. Siellon almost asked him again when a small section of the floor slid off to the side, revealing a compartment barely large enough for Neris to fit his hands into. He pulled back with a small leather pouch heavily covered in stains in his dusty fingers with a resigned look on his face.

"_I know I'm going to regret asking, but what is that?"_

Neris glanced at his best friend silently. His mind was racing with possibilities. What if it was too soon to use what had been given to him so long ago? What if it was too late for these efforts to work? He had been given vague instructions when he was but a child and he remembered so little of what he had been told. Swallowing thickly, he pulled the closing string at the top open gently and allowed the contents of the leather bag to spill into his waiting hand. Seven small orbs rested in his trembling fingers, dried blood concealing their once incredible luster. Siellon gasped in recognition and stepped back, eyes widening with disbelief.

"_Are those…"_

Neris nodded and carefully replaced the contents back into the long untouched bag, tying the loose ends with the thin string. He had prayed that he would never need use them, but he had known better. For his whole life, he had known. Now, the day he had feared approaching had arrived and he had to leave. He tucked the bag into a small pouch at his belt and moved to complete his mission.

"_I'm sorry,"_ he murmured.

Siellon blinked at him in confusion, unable to understand why his friend was apologizing. Neris clenched his fists in frustration and moved towards the door, leaving his friend staring after him in utter bafflement. Before the dark elf could move to follow, Neris pivoted on his toes and slammed one heel into his best friend's temple. Siellon crumpled to the ground.

"_I'm sorry,"_ Neris whispered again. _"But I knew you wouldn't stay behind and you can't follow me."_ He swallowed thickly and hung his head. For years now he had seen visions of what would happen. Images of blinding powers and inconceivable battles hung in his mind. _"I'm not coming back."_

Knowing that it would be useless, he strapped his sword to his waist and hung a bow and full quiver over his shoulder. Despite the warmth of the weather outside, he pulled a full cloak over his slender form, using its swirled shades of greens and browns to disappear into the trees. In a few days, he would reach his destination and at the same time, his fate.

--- --- --- --- ---

Menderren sighed loudly and scrubbed his hands through his hair roughly, fingers catching slightly on the four short horns decorating his scalp. He knew they were necessary, but that didn't keep them from hurting. The pain became unbearable at times, crippling his mind and rational thoughts. He remembered cornering nine of those that his aunt was so desperately hunting, but he had simply walked away. He had them overpowered and off-guard, none of the truly dangerous warriors with them. They had been alone. Helpless.

A faint rustling interrupted his dark thoughts. Blind to the world around him, a single figure staggered wearily in the direction Menderren had just come from. His wounds were extensive, many of which should have killed him long ago. He paused several times in his slow trek to the south, arguing softly with someone that Menderren could neither see nor hear. Blood coated every inch of his body and left a clear trail of where he had been. Menderren scoffed at his lumbering movements. From the direction he had come from, he had been the one that had scared Cehir so badly. Dead on his feet, he still forced himself to move onwards for a few steps before collapsing to the ground.

When he didn't get up, Menderren wandered over to the limp form and used one toe to flip the still figure onto his back. His eyes widened and he laughed to himself. He should have known it was Cye. No wonder Cehir had chosen to leave. His silver-haired brother wasn't ready to face his past. Either that, or he still didn't wish to believe what he knew to be a fact. Menderren grinned ruefully at the latter possibility. No one had explicitly _told_ him, but he obviously knew the truth though reluctant to accept it even though he had admitted it once already.

Not objecting to the opportunity granted him, he wrapped his fingers around the mangled neck. A weak heartbeat fluttered beneath his fingers, slowing further with each passing second. Cye's jaw quivered weakly as he fought for breath that would not come. Frowning darkly, Menderren unclenched his wiry fingers and sat down cross-legged beside the man who was probably as old or older than himself. His head throbbed fiercely, a sense of injustice washing over his mind.

"Not sporting to kill you while you're unconscious," he snorted. "It's really no fun that way." He prodded Cye roughly in the side. "Wake up."

"_**The sport you play is far from bold. It's not a match if he's out cold."**_

"Need I even ask?" Menderren called out languidly. A sudden twisted mirth appeared on his sharp features. "Come out to play, O little one. Then you and I can have some fun." The following pause was all he needed to know that he had struck a nerve with his invisible observer. The taunting rhymes could go both ways.

"_**The first immortal cannot die. But you, young one, are going to fry."**_

Menderren spun on his butt where he sat and looked around expectantly. Still seeing no sign of the obviously irked outlander, he took another blind stab. He was having too much fun to relent so soon.

"Ugly, old and very slow, you are a pathetic foe."

Again there was a pause. Menderren waited eagerly for the response, already amused. His siblings had always thought it a drag to tease their opponents before combat, but he thought it great fun. He could sense the outlander hiding just outside of his grasp, effectively hidden within the dimension's shadow. The undisguised irritation of the massive force watching him continued to increase. He could feel it, taste it even.

"**_Your tongue's sharp words I shall not heed. Your mind lacks the matching speed,"_** the deep voice replied. Translation: A battle of wits and he had come unarmed. Menderren nearly collapsed laughing. He had never thought to see the day when an outlander would lose his temper enough to exchange insults. It just was not done.

Still giggling, he prepared to spout off another retort, pausing when he noticed that Cye had disappeared from behind him. He frowned in disconcertion. Cye had been unconscious and crippled, hadn't he? There was absolutely no way he could have moved, let alone without being heard.

"_**I have what I want and now shall go. Still you call me old and slow?"**_

Menderren leapt to his feat and stepped away from the source of the outlander's voice. His eyes flicked towards where Cye had lain, his spinning mind only then registering that the stream of blood the man had been trailing didn't extend from where he had fallen. The outlander had taken him back to his companions. He had intervened.

Swallowing thickly, he sprinted in a random direction, gaining as much ground as he could while casting a gateway. He had to tell the others that at least one of the outlanders had broken the ancient oath to never interfere in any war. He shivered uncontrollably as he vanished into his portal. It had been at least twenty-seven million years since his last appearance and his dimension-shaking punishment, and now Zairian had left the outlands once more.

--- --- --- --- ---

Mouri nearly jumped out of his skin when a familiar visage appeared beside him and slung a companionable arm around his shoulders, though he had to stoop greatly to accomplish that position, his seven feet dwarfing the elf's five. The brunette was still stuttering dumbly when the raven-haired figure began speaking.

"**_In coming days, for yourselves you must fare. Though I wish to help, I'll not be there," _**he said amiably, unaware of the stares leveled in his direction.

"My God," Kenji whispered. His eyes were nearly bulging from his head. He edged closer to a petrified Mouri and prodded the elf in the side. "Is this who…"

Unable to speak, Mouri nodded weakly. Grinning widely in blatant amusement, the raven-haired figure turned to face the gawking cluster of people behind him. Kenji swallowed thickly and stepped back. He was not the only one to retreat a few paces from the lithe figure. Though he knew of and greatly respected the man, seeing him was something altogether different. For the first time ever, he was awarded a full view of the second type of outlander.

Standing at a little over seven feet high was a creature that almost looked like a gaunt man who had never seen the sun. Every vein and artery showed clearly through his translucent skin. Black orbs shone eerily from gently slanted eyes, neither whites nor irises present in the crystalline obsidian. Perfectly straight onyx hair hung in silken sheets to his waist, not a strand tangled or out of place. Behind him, enormous feathery wings were folded against his black cloak, the raven feathers making the cloth seem almost light by comparison. His hands were mostly hidden by the billowing sleeves that fell just short of covering his long fingers. Supple boots were similarly covered by the loose folds of cloth. Noticing and rather enjoying the dumbfounded and worried looks he was receiving, he grinned widely at his audience, flashing his pronounced canines. He was about to speak when Shin leapt forward from the shocked group, the boy's stupefaction dissolving in his anger.

"Where is my brother?" Shin yelled. Terru choked on his tongue and fumbled to silence the youth by sheer force, slapping one hand over Shin's mouth. Shin bit him, hard, but the youko leader did not loosen his grip. Everyone tensed, expecting the worst. To their utter surprise and relief, the outlander only grinned wider.

"**_If you seek the first immortal, then claim him from the outland's portal,"_** he chuckled. Only mystified looks answered him when he unfurled one massive wing. Still receiving no response, he shrugged and swiveled his wing slightly to hold it parallel with the earth. Immediately, a figure cloaked in blood appeared from the obsidian feathers, slipping unhindered from seemingly nowhere to collapse onto the ground.

Recognizing the battered form immediately, Shin struggled to free himself from Terru's fierce grip. Not escaping quickly enough for his liking, he cracked one elbow into the youko behind him, hitting an extremely sensitive area in his blind jab. Terru immediately let go and fell back, his eyes more than slightly crossed.

"Cye!" Shin called out miserably, collapsing beside his older brother. He looked up at the outlander with wide eyes. "Is he…"

"**_Your brother lives, by my hands. He's not the next to leave these lands,"_** the outlander said in a soft baritone. He unfurled his other wing, pausing for a moment. He turned to Mouri, who paled and stepped back. **_"Though I shall not yet help your cause, I can still bend a few of our laws."_**

Still not able to draw anyone into conversation, he shook his head ruefully and slipped one pale hand into his wing. His fingers turned misty and vanished as they contacted the onyx plumage, disappearing into nothingness. He pulled his hand free a moment later, a small jingling bag clenched in his slender fingers. He tossed the leather satchel to Mouri in a gentle arc, chuckling again when the elf fumbled clumsily in snagging it out of the air. The elfin sorcerer blinked in shock.

"My runes," he murmured, looking up blankly. The outlander smiled.

"**_While the single runes are great fun, you cannot fight with only one. If you wish them to better function, then I suggest you use them in conjunction,"_** he offered helpfully. **_"Play their weakness as you will. Entwining powers will surely kill."_**

Not waiting for or apparently wanting a response, he unfurled his wings to their full extent and folded them about his slender frame. He immediately sank into the oblivion of the voids within the onyx feathers, shrinking to nothingness before their eyes. His wings inverted on themselves and disappeared into the waiting outlands. Silence reigned absolutely for a few seconds after his disappearance before Cale mustered the nerve to speak.

"Was that…" he trailed off, still stumbling over his own tongue. Kenji and Mouri seemed to understand what he had intended to ask and nodded slowly.

"He's the outlander we've been expecting to show for some time," Mouri answered quietly. "It looks as though he's been helping us for awhile now."

Kenji nodded in agreement, the look of trepidation on his face shifting into one of consideration and finally into hope.

"After all of these years, Zairian walks again."

--- --- --- --- ---

To Be Continued…

Just wait. I promise that it is going to get stranger. Just wait till the sixth story. R&R!


	7. Chapter 7

Eternity

Part 7

By Mieren

-----

Rowen flopped against a tree in defeat. Two weeks had passed since he had last seen Cye, since he had abandoned his weak, and possibly dying, grandson. He sighed dejectedly, wondering why it was so hard to admit the relationship now when he had believed himself to have grown accustomed to the strange fact. Perhaps it was simply because his grandson was now several centuries older than himself. Perhaps it was because he didn't want to believe that he had allowed another family member to die.

A soft rustling caught his attention and he glanced up in time to see a leather-clad figure with flawless obsidian skin hurdle past him. White wisps of escaped hair whipped behind the slender figure as he ran, further catching Rowen's attention. With his speed, it took almost no effort to pass the sprinting figure and draw him up short in his urgent quest.

"_So where are you off to, Siellon?"_ he asked softly. The dark elf skidded to a halt before him, jaw working silently for a moment as he struggled to gather his wits.

"Where's Neris?" he snapped in Japanese, pleasantries forgotten in his haste. Rowen's eyebrows raised slightly. He obviously hadn't expected the elf to remember the language after so many years.

"I haven't seen him," he answered honestly. Siellon tensed.

"Where are the others? He was looking for them."

"Haven't seen them either," Rowen admitted. "What was it that was so urgent to have him running off alone?"

Siellon hesitated. His eyes spoke of something he didn't want to say, something that needed to be said. Rowen noted the slightly desperate look in his eyes and waited patiently for the dark elf to continue. Siellon sighed noisily and proceeded bluntly.

"He has your friends' armor orbs," he sighed. "He took them and left, telling me he wasn't coming back just before knocking me out cold."

Rowen was silent for a moment as he considered several possibilities. Several tense seconds passed before he spoke.

"How did he get them?"

Siellon shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted softly. "But they were covered in blood." Rowen stared at him blankly for a moment, eyes pained.

"When?" he asked in a strangled voice.

"Neris said he's had them since he was a child."

Rowen exhaled weakly and lowered his gaze. Cye's hand at time traveling was painfully obvious. The attempt to protect their friends had been a valiant one, but something had gone awry. He had to fight with himself to keep from opening a portal on the spot and searching for the time Cye had left them in. A time before they had been attacked. Only his firm conviction that a paradox would cause horrific problems prevented him from leaving.

He didn't realize he was moving until Siellon caught his arm, pulling him to a sudden halt. Worried ruby eyes met amused sapphire. The dark elf drew away, momentarily confused and all but sure that his friend had lost his mind. He tried desperately to think of something to say, cutting short when Rowen's lips twitched upwards into a knowing smile. A smile that made the blood in Siellon's veins run cold.

"How old is Neris?" he asked smoothly. Siellon blinked in shock, answering reflexively before he had time to consider the implications.

"A little over three hundred," he stammered. Understanding crashed into him almost before the words were out of his mouth and he grabbed for Rowen's arm again as the blue-haired man turned to leave. Rowen waved him away casually.

"Don't worry," he said simply. "For once, I know what I'm doing."

With that, a shimmering portal of sapphire flames sprang into existence, unraveling skillfully into nothingness once Rowen had stepped through. Siellon watched him go with unadulterated trepidation. Twice now he had been abandoned by friends leaving on futile missions that would undoubtedly lead to their deaths.

Muttering darkly in futile resignation, he returned to his journey. Dark comments were uttered about the various degrees of brain poisoning developing from the pigments that gave rise to blue hair. There was just no other explanation.

-----

Dais raised her hands meaningfully, the sheer power building at her fingertips nothing to be scoffed at. The pure essence of illusion flickered around one hand, darkness in the other. Without warning, she snapped the heels of her hands together, delicate strands of illusion mingling with the purest darkness.

For a moment, nothing happened. The tranquility around her was absolute for all of an uneasy heartbeat. Then, the twining powers merged into one. An explosion roared forth, rending the landscape asunder well into the looming mountain range. When the dust finally cleared, she grinned widely at her handiwork, at the crater that had removed more than half of the mountainside. Sehkmet whistled in appreciation.

"Neat trick," he conceded. "How did you figure that one out?"

For an answer, Dais grinned at him roguishly. "I got bored," she answered coyly.

"Bored my ass," Katari snipped, glaring at the two before their conversation turned truly sickening. She grudgingly admitted that it was understandable that her grandmother had begun flirting after so many years alone, but the target of her advances clearly left something to be desired. Her siblings agreed with her fully. Gau merely stalked off when he saw their poorly hidden grins and winks. Ella always scowled and flushed darkly before attempting to physically beat the poor green-haired schmuck into the earth.

Dais glanced at her nineteen-year-old granddaughter, wondering once again how it was possible that the girl looked exactly like her. She had inherited neither Sage's nor Kayura's looks, and as the years passed, the resemblance to herself was becoming uncanny. At the moment, though, the look she was receiving clearly told her that the huffy teen was in no mood to watch her flirt with a man she obviously didn't have much respect for. Not that her flirting ever accomplished anything anyways. Sehkmet wouldn't recognize an advance if it bit him in the ass. Dais grinned suddenly, now there was an idea to store for later.

Katari must have recognized the look on her face, because her expression darkened further in revulsion. Dais raised her hands defensively and returned to her training. No matter how things turned out, she knew that eventually she would end up fighting.

"Is it like this?" Ryoko asked suddenly, appearing at Dais's side. Katari bristled at the unexpected diversion, finally calming when she decided that her best friend would distract her grandmother from what she had been doing. Sehkmet ogling was just gross.

Ryoko's hands were already extended as she had seen Dais do only moments before. Dais scrambled to correct her posture before she hurt herself or someone else. Despite the obvious talents of the eighteen-year-old, she still needed close instruction before properly forming any attack. Dais had long ago summed the girl's clumsy attributes to her father, Kento having forever been a blockhead in most matters. Her only saving grace was that Ritsuko was her mother.

Powers of venom swirled around the cinnamon brown orb still in the back of Ryoko's arm, building with unfathomable speed as she called upon the armor for energy. For a moment she seemed hesitant, unable to continue. Between the abilities of manipulating life and controlling the darkness, she had never mastered either. Her decision was taken from her as Dais carefully pushed her other hand into the shadows, wanting to make sure she could easily control one of the energies if something went horribly wrong. Katari and Sehkmet scrambled for cover as she placed her palms together.

Instantly, the powers intertwined and erupted into an earthshaking explosion. Katari peeked over Sehkmet's shoulder when the shuddering of the planet had subsided, grinning to herself when she saw that the remainder of the mountain had been blown away by her friend's attack. She grinned even wider when she thought of how pissed Akira was going to be at having to rebuild the mountain _again_. This wasn't the first time they had blown it up. Hell, it wasn't the hundredth.

As if summoned by her smirk, Akira wandered into the small area they were gathered in, a disgruntled look coming to his face. A loud sigh escaped his lips as he flopped to the ground and rested his forehead on the stump of his left arm, raising his right hand towards the demolished landscape in the distance. Almost immediately, the earth heaved slightly, a new mountain range forming in the distance. His halfhearted glare dissipated when he saw his younger sister grinning bashfully at him from beside Dais. He couldn't easily stay angry with her when she looked at him like that.

"Now look, Ryoko," he started, giving in completely when Dais winked at him.

"She did it right, you know," she said, throwing girl a wide smile. Ryoko beamed at the praise. It wasn't often she managed an elemental attack without nearly blowing up everyone else in the process. Akira's eyebrow rose slightly.

"Did she?"

"Indeed," Dais answered, a trace of laughter entering her voice. "Why, at this rate, she may even be able to pull off my newest trick some day."

"Newest trick?" Katari asked. Having finally come out of hiding, she was seriously considering returning to a defensive crouch behind something to ensure her continuing health. The last time Dais learned a new trick, everyone within a fifty-yard radius had been sporting purple hair for two weeks.

"Wanna see?" she asked innocently.

Akira and Katari stepped back.

Sehkmet looked worried.

Ryoko grinned and nodded, earning several groans and worried looks.

"Alright," Dais purred. Without warning, she shifted forms, inadvertently tearing her shirt when four extraneous arms appeared.

"Ah, shit," Katari breathed. "You gotta be kidding me." Akira looked at her curiously, not quite understanding her trepidation.

"What?" Akira asked, not really wanting an answer.

"You'll see," Katari muttered. She raised her arms, pulling a protective barrier into existence and locking her mind to hold it in place. "Hey, Ryoko. Come over here, would ya?" Ryoko blinked at her, completely unaware of the danger she was in.

"Oh ye of little faith," Dais snorted. In one hand, powers of darkness gathered. Illusion began to build in another. Wisps of fire and air built in two others.

"Ah, shit," Akira said numbly, echoing Katari's sentiments exactly, his brain too nuked to create an original expletive. Sehkmet started to before Akira automatically slammed a rock into the back of green-haired man's head. "Ryoko, come over here with Katari and me. You too, Sehkmet." Twined gazes of slowly dawning comprehension appeared on Ryoko's and Sehkmet's faces followed by horror. They virtually sprinted to hide behind the barrier Katari had raised, adding their own powers while trying to hide behind a miffed Akira.

"And for the finishing touches," Dais started again, her voice beginning to sound strained. "We have poison." A burst of power erupted around a fifth hand. "And spirit." Her final hand ignited into violet flames. She arranged her hands into a rough circle and snapped her six palms together.

"Hit the dirt," Akira advised weakly, vocal cords refusing to work. Though he and the others immediately dropped to the earth and tried to cover their ears, they were too slow to avoid the initial shock wave emanating from Dais.

For an instant, it appeared as though the world had disappeared in a blast of brilliant purple light. The blast had appeared, demolished everything in its path and dissipated so quickly that for a moment, Katari believed that the explosion had been silent. Her suspicion was quickly disproved in the deafening thunder that followed, uprooting trees and creating great fissures in the earth. By the time the roar had ceased and the dust had settled, Dais was already running forward, curses ringing in the air behind her as she picked her way across the melted earth.

"What is she doing?" Sehkmet asked stupidly.

"How should I know?" Akira groused. He glared unhappily at the devastation. The earth had simply vanished in the path of the explosion, creating a canyon to the horizon and beyond that he was going to have to close. Again.

"I'll find out," Katari sighed. She rose smoothly into the air and sped after the sprinting figure ahead of her, easily catching up to her grandmother in the span of a few seconds. "What's up?"

"I hit someone," Dais gasped, still pushing for speed. "I didn't see him in time to stop. There was someone there!"

"Not anymore," Katari muttered. At the foul look she received, she raised her hands defensively and pushed ahead. She circled the massive area of devastation several times. She was almost ready to give up and fly back to Dais when something moved in her peripheral vision. A charred figure pushed itself off of the ground and swore luridly.

"Dais!" he snapped. "If you were still pretending to be a man, I'd kick you in the nuts, you insane bastard! What in the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Uh," Dais slurred, unable to think of anything more intelligent to say. The blackened figure stormed over to her and scowled darkly. He looked as though he wanted nothing more than to throttle the platinum blond in front of him.

"Hold it," Akira snapped, moving between Dais and the charbroiled figure. "Just what were you doing out there anyways?" Dark blue eyes narrowed angrily and Akira almost stepped back before steeling his nerves. Anything that could survive a blast like that wasn't something he really wanted to mess with.

"I can't believe that _you_ of all people would take the transvestite's side!"

Katari finally dropped out of the air and adopted a defensive posture in front of her grandmother beside Akira. Despite being perpetually displeased with the cross-dresser, she couldn't let some stranger rip her apart. Ryoko and Sehkmet joined her immediately.

"Who are you?" Ryoko spat.

The charred figure blinked, attention finally diverted from ripping Dais's throat out with his fingernails. He stared at Ryoko for several moments in silence.

"Ryoko?" he asked incredulously. "Is that you?" He produced a lopsided grin and a soft chuckle. "The last time I saw you, you were only twelve! You're dad's gonna freak when he sees you." With that, he dissolved into broken wheezing, fighting to draw breath in his spastic laughter. Sehkmet and Dais froze. Akira turned numbly to face his little sister.

"Ryoko," he said stiffly. "Go get Ella and Gau."

"But," she began.

"Now," he interrupted.

"Okay," she said uncertainly, circling back towards the house.

"And tell them to hurry," he called after her, his eyes never leaving the scorched figure in front of him. "What's going on? Why are you back and what the hell took you so long?"

"In that order," a wry voice answered. "We're getting our asses kicked, I need something and I miscalculated when I jumped. Does that cover it?"

"No," Akira snapped.

His next question was interrupted by a crack of thunder, lightening striking the ground a few feet from him. From the smoking ground, a heavily muscled blond scrambled to his feet, eyes locking onto the blackened form standing calmly beside Akira. Reorienting himself quickly, Gau rushed over to him, his hands already ablaze in peridot fires.

"Are you crazy?" Gau snapped over his shoulder at Dais. "You could have killed someone with what you were doing!"

The charred mess began laughing harder. The only thing that kept him from the ground was Gau's strong grip on his arms. He managed to choke out an explanation to the curious azure gaze between bouts of laughter.

"It's bad enough you look like your father," he gasped. "But for you to sound just like him too…"

He broke down into uncontrollable giggling, unable to finish his thought. Thick blue hair began to reform through the charring, already reaching his shoulder blades before Gau could stop that part of the regeneration. Streaks of black and white faded into existence almost immediately.

"Rowen," Gau breathed, faltering for a moment in his healing. He quickly resumed work. "What's going on? Is it over?"

Katari froze, her shocked gaze shifting to the blue locks of hair. The familiar voice finally registered in her mind. "My God," she breathed.

Rowen's amusement ebbed quickly and he craned his head back to stare at the heavens. The strained laughter faded into heavy breathing that no one could credit to the injuries fast fading along his gaunt form. He didn't lower his gaze from the sky even when a loud rustling in the grasses and shrubs in the area announced the arrival of many more people.

"Rowen?" Ryo called out softly. "Are you okay? What happened?"

He received no answer, the lifeless indigo eyes still locked onto the heavens above. It was as though Rowen hadn't heard him. Ritsuko and Kayura asked him the same thing with no better luck. Rowen seemed intent on staring at the sky and ignoring them utterly. When he finally spoke, it was to a silent audience.

"We're losing," he stated simply, not looking down at them. "We've lost the support of the youko. Their ranks have broken. Mouri's already been killed and brought back to life. Cye is slowly dying and there's nothing we can do about it." He finally dropped his gaze, laughing softly, slightly hysterically. "When he dies, all bets are off. They're going to take him when he's reborn and we won't be able to stop them."

"Why did you come back here to tell us this?" Mana snapped, her voice unnaturally loud in the horrified silence. Rowen looked at her bleakly.

"As I already told Akira, I need something."

"What?" Akira asked.

Rowen remained silent, pulling a small leather pouch out of his pocket and loosening the drawstrings at the top. For his answer, he reached out and grabbed Akira's arm, eyes locked onto the golden orb set just behind his wrist. Akira only had time to open his mouth to protest when Rowen summoned a fiery blue dagger from thin air and slashed the armor orb free from his arm with a simple thought. Rowen stared at the bloody crystal for a moment before dropping it into the leather pouch hanging from his fingers.

"Damn it, Rowen!" Akira snapped, pulling back his arm angrily. "You could have at least warned me! That's the only arm I have left, you prick!"

Rowen ignored him, reaching out for Gau's wrist. The blond stared at him heatedly but didn't protest or flinch when the orb was removed just as roughly from his arm. Ella and Nasuti held out their hands without being asked. Ritsuko and Katari leveled identical glares at him before complying. Ryoko made a face and wrenched the sphere out of her arm before Rowen managed to get anywhere near her with the blade of air. Rowen simply took the orb from her and dropped it into the pouch with the others.

"That's seven," he muttered to himself. He shook his head slowly and began to walk away from a very confused group. "Just missing water. Kenji is going to be pissed."

"Rowen," Mia asked carefully. "What exactly are you planning?"

"To have a little fun with the newly formed outlanders," he called back carelessly. "I don't care how strong they are. If you intertwine different powers sufficiently, you can do some serious damage. Dais just demonstrated that," he said, waving vaguely to the area behind him. Several glances flicked towards the devastation behind them. Rowen paused at a largish tree and stepped into the shadow it was throwing across the ground.

"Rowen, wait," Dais called. Dull blue eyes turned back to look at her. "You're time traveling. That means you can pause for a moment and talk to us."

"You can rest for a little while," Ryo added, catching on. "Logically, it can't hurt anything, right?"

"I can't stay here any longer," Rowen answered firmly. "I'm on borrowed time. I'm not supposed to be here. It's against the rules. Ritsuko shouldn't be here either. Neither should Ryoko." He sank up to his waist before pausing and craning his head to look back at the cluster of people staring at him in shock.

"Rules?" Kayura asked in confusion. "What rules?" Rowen didn't hear her.

"Oh, and Akira," he called. "If you're so worried about your arm, have Gau do something about it. He's more than strong enough."

Before anyone could respond to his last comment, he disappeared into the shadows. Akira turned to Ritsuko in shock.

"He's not that strong, is he?" he asked slowly.

"He's not," she answered stiffly. "And if Rowen seriously thinks otherwise…"

"Then he's lost his mind," Kayura finished for her. "And if both Cye and Rowen are out of the battle…"

"Then we've really lost," Ryo concluded grimly.

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TBC…

It's getting worse isn't it? You have no idea how bad it gets in my mind. It's like a slap to the face. Literally. Please R&R!


	8. Chapter 8

Eternity

Part 8

By Mieren

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"_Neris,"_ a voice prompted gently. A single finger poked the tiny elf's shoulder. _"Wake up, Neris."_

"_What?"_ an unhappy four-year-old complained, squinting up at the strangely blue figure above him. He edged back in his bed, moving away from the unknown man. _"Who are you?"_

"_I'm a friend of your father and of you in the future,"_ the blue-haired man explained. He stuffed a small leather satchel into the edgy boy's pudgy hands. _"Hide this somewhere only you know. Tell no one, not your family, not your friends, not even me. When the time comes, you'll know what to do with them."_

"_B-but,"_ the little elf stammered. _"I don't understand."_

"_One day, you will,"_ the tall man promised. _"For now, I must go. I shouldn't be here."_

"_Wait! What do you mean you shouldn't be here?"_

"_There are rules,"_ the older man said quickly. _"Right now, you must trust me."_

In a blast of sapphire light, the man was gone, leaving behind nothing but wisps of energy and the bloodstained bag in the elfin boy's hands. Gingerly, he pulled open the bag, confused by the seven crimson streaked globes in the small satchel. Not understanding what was happening but afraid to disobey, the little elf used the cover of night to move to the furthest part of his house, prying up part of the floor with a screwdriver and digging a small hole in the compressed dirt. Settling the bag into the fresh opening, he repaired the floor and snuck back to bed, careful not to wake the strange guests that his father had staying at their house. In passing, he noted that many of them had similar, or even identical, orbs set in the back of their wrists.

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Neris ran, not certain where he was going, but he remembered the man with blue hair, one that he was certain he had encountered again after their first meeting. In the distance, he could sense his roommate following him doggedly and he pumped his legs for more speed. Grasping the bag in his hands, he allowed the resonance to run through his veins, telling him where the other armors were located. He could sense two and had another seven, but one was missing. Where was the armor of water?

Flashes of blue filtered through the elf's mind. Torrent. A child had the orb. A boy with green eyes and black hair, resembling many of the Eternity Bound. The second of the first had it. Neris narrowed his eyes, knowing that he would have to remove the orb from the boy's arm himself, assuming that the boy didn't kill him for trying. That particular bloodline had a tendency towards violence.

Contemplating as he ran, he decided to wait to remove the last of the ten. Kenji was strong, but not that strong. Nine would probably kill him. Ten would definitely finish him off until he was ready, and Neris was certain that he was not.

A flash of violet in the back of his mind informed him that Siellon had regained consciousness and had done his best to follow him. Scowling, he ran faster towards the group he could scarcely sense, their power and auras pressed down to almost nothing as they sought to hide, not that he could blame them. Neris could only sense them since he had known many of them since he was just a baby. He had followed two of them many years ago, knowing who they were if only vaguely. The woman had been exactly who he had known, but the blond was different and yet the same. He had been sure that they were related back then, now he knew more. The blond he had helped was the father of the one he had endeared as a friend when he was so small, the two almost identical in appearance.

With his meager abilities, Neris once again probed the seven orbs with his mind, waiting for an echoing resonance in the distance. He nearly tripped when the three missing spheres flashed back their location, amazingly close to where he was. He spun sharply to the left, vanishing into a small opening in the earth.

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Shin and Kenji both jerked in shock when their armor orbs pulsed sharply, sending out a small burst of energy through them and out of the cave. The two exchanged horrified expressions and dove for the nearest sharp objects they could find, namely Shin's claws. The onyx-haired boy was almost ripping the back of his arm off as he struggled to remove the armor orb with his left hand while simultaneously curling the claws on his right hand into Kenji's left wrist. Everyone else just stared at them as though they had lost their minds, minus Cye who had yet to regain consciousness.

"Exactly what are you doing?" Sage asked, the first to voice the bafflement of the observing group.

"We're being tracked!" Shin said, almost in hysterics. "Someone is hunting us through these things!" He nearly lost his right hand and ripped of Kenji's left when somebody barreled into their small hiding place. Weapons and spells were readied instantly, the sudden interloper nearly losing his head to one of Mouri's runes before he was recognized.

"NERIS?" came the collective booming voices.

Named elf only gave them a weary smile before hurling a bloodied leather satchel at Kenji's head, too winded from running to speak immediately. The bag bounced off the blue-haired man's skull and landed in Shin's lap, causing the boy to stop the dual mutilation of their arms and pick up the mystery gift, yanking the drawstring open. Black eyebrows rose almost to his hairline.

"For… Kenji…" Neris panted, silvery eyes glinting almost evilly. The named sorcerer looked spooked, but cupped his palms to allow the boy to pour the contents of the frightening satchel into his hands. Seven blood-caked orbs rolled into his hands and blue eyes became almost comically huge.

"Oh, HELL no!" Kenji cried out. "Two of the damn things were bad enough! Attempting nine is just flat out of the question."

"Where did you get those?" Shin asked, eyes fixed on the bloody orbs.

Silver eyes met green as Neris uttered a single name that caused everyone to freeze in shock. "Rowen."

"Rowen?" Sage asked almost desperately. "Where is he?"

"I don't know," Neris admitted. "He gave those to me when I was four."

"What was he thinking?" Kento muttered.

"I'm not sure, but your friends still had them in their arms when he gave them to me," he said, earning himself several baffled stares. "They had them for years before Rowen came to claim them and give them to me."

"That's where he took everyone?" Kento queried only to be ignored.

"Why would he go to the trouble of going into the past to give them to you?" Cale murmured. "Why not just bring them to us?"

"Because," Cye groaned, nearly giving everyone coronaries. "He's not allowed to fight any longer."

"Wait, wait, wait," Kenji said. "What do you mean 'not allowed'?"

"I mean Zairian," Cye muttered. He looked up, shocking the assembled group for a second time in so many minutes. The black, white and silver streaking his hair faded back to a perfect auburn as his eyes briefly glowed a vibrant sea blue. The scars and wrinkles on his face faded away to a flawless twenty-year-old face. He shook his head slowly. "While I was asleep, he explained… everything. Rowen is no longer allowed to fight. And now… neither am I." In a burst of turquoise light, he vanished. The remaining group exchanged horrified looks.

"What's going on?" Sage demanded.

"We're screwed," Kenji summed up. "With both Mieren and those two out of the battle, we don't stand a chance."

"We do stand a chance," Neris objected. "Rowen said that he wasn't supposed to be helping, but he did. The armor orbs…"

"NO!" Kenji interjected forcefully. "Two almost killed me. Nine is out of the question!"

"It might not be necessary," Anubis interjected before an argument could begin. Kenji looked at him almost desperately. "Tell me Neris… what did you see when you were young?"

"What?"

"You said that the others were with you when you were a child," Anubis elaborated. All eyes turned away from him to Neris. "When did they leave?"

"They came when I was a baby," he said slowly. "Rowen gave me the armor orbs when I was four."

"When did they leave?" Cale asked, catching up with his friend's thoughts.

"When I was six. Right after they lost the orbs in their wrists."

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To Be Continued…

Just wait till you see what I have planned. It will blow your mind. To be honest, it's blowing MY mind and I'm the one that thought it up. The finale will kill us all. R&R!


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